Windows 7

So I got the opportunity to play around with Windows 7 Beta at work. I had looked on the Internet but couldn't find a lot of pictures of it or much info, so I'm going to do a little review, for those of you that care.

Probably the first thing you'll notice is the new start menu/window list design. It's much more like Linux (who would have guessed?), and Mac too. One thing I think Windows has done well is the start menu in Vista (and 7), combining a traditional menu design with the functionality of something like Gnome-Do.


Windows 7 adds some capabilities to this design. You can "pin" things from the start menu to the bar, as well as browse more things directly from the menu. I think they call this something like a "jump menu."


You can also browse your windows from the window list. They are grouped together by application. All of your file browsers are grouped, IE windows are grouped (and each tab is viewed separately there), etc. When you go to the icon, you see a box with previews of
the windows that are grouped there.


Putting your mouse over one of them shows you just that window, turning everything else into just a black border, transparent to the desktop. I think this is equally useful and annoying. The close button that each preview has is nice, though.


I like the fact that it's been condensed to a per-icon basis rather than having to fit text down there, but I'm not sure how well it will always work. I know that with Linux it's a problem when a window has no icon, it just uses the default, and having more than one like that may be a problem. Most applications that most people use should be fine, though.

I know that a lot of people have a lot of negative feedback about the new ribbon UI in Office 2007, but I have come to like it. After using AutoCAD 2008, I got used to that kind of interface and preferred using it. Switching from the old-school menus and bars is a big change, but
seriously, deal with it. I like the context-based organization of it, and once you get the hang of it, things are much easier to find than having to dig though long menus at the top.
I do have a reason for this little rant... Paint got a makeover to this new design, and while I think for a program of its caliber it's a bit overkill, I like it. It's good for consistency.


More options have been added for themes, which is awesome. One of the things I disliked the most about Vista was how the interface was so fixed, with really no options to customize it, where Linux has more options that I know what to do with. Windows 7 brings a choice of color for your transparent windows, and, while I prefer the regular bluish anyway, it's still a good addition. The desktop chooser is also very nicely redone, allowing you to choose among a group of pictures that will rotate every so often.

A more subtle change is that when a window is maximized, the title bar no longer turns black, but keeps the theme.

The sidebar for gadgets is gone, and I'm not sure whether that's a good or bad thing. I never really used it, I have Google Desktop under Vista (when I use it, which is less than once a month), but I think it's nice to have the gadgets arranged in a sidebar. In Windows 7 they are freely arranged on the desktop, which you could do in Vista, but at least there was the choice to sidebar them.

I tried YouTube videos in the cascade window switcher (that's what I call it), and they played while being browsed there. They also play in the bar at the bottom. I'm not sure how Vista did with this. I still noticed that if a window was not up it wouldn't update the preview in these places, though.


The system tray is another thing that has had a major redesign. Instead of trying to autohide things in a massive system tray, they get their own icon and popup box.


In the box you can see all of your icons, and when you go to the properties of this box, you have more options. You can decide when an icon should be shown a per-application basis. This is very handy to see only what you want to while hiding the clutter.


Notifications are similar, being grouped together in one icon that expands to a little box of notifications.

Windows has also changed the way that it organizes your personal files (again?). It has a section called "Libraries" which contains your usual Documents, Music, etc.

It's also got the cute updates to the flashy bling stuff you see around, such as the boot screen and others. Subtle things to distinguish it from Vista, which it otherwise resembles very much.

IE 8 Beta. Woo hoo. Looks more like Firefox (good, because I thought the IE 7 interface was bulky and awkward), not too much different.


It does have a different look to the history search, too. It looks more like, you guessed it, Firefox.


One thing that I was sad to see remain is the login screen behavior when part of a domain. When you use the username "administrator," it automatically assumes you want to log on to the machine instead of the domain. This is almost never the case. It's annoying to have to do "domain\administrator" every time to get it to log in to the domain. Maybe it's our fault for using "administrator" as our administrator, but still, it's annoying.

I tried adding an HP LaserJet 1012 and a 1005 (I think) as printers, but neither worked. The 1012 was a pain in Vista, but it eventually could work. I wasn't able to get drivers to install for either one, but that's something I'll excuse for a Beta release of Windows.

Also, it hasn't gotten any smaller. It's installed on a 40 GB drive (really 37.2 GB), and it has only 3 GB free, with only Office, an anti-virus, and Flash Player installed. I seem to recall some MS person saying that Vista got really big, and they just needed to make sure it didn't get any worse.
It may have.
Seriously, what are they doing with all that space? I think Linux does way more in a 2 GB install.

Pinpoint

On the one hand, 11:40 at night is probably not the best time to be starting this, but on the other hand, if I don't do it now, I'll never do it. I'm not sure which is better... so here goes.
It's odd... some things come to me for the first time, and it's a wonderful concept, a great idea, but then it quickly fades to not very much at all. And some things seem to come to me over and over, and they seem pretty good. They take longer to fade, but they do, and then I'm back to facing them again.
I'm sure I've thought these things before, yet I find myself there again. What exactly is it that I put in other people? Is it faith? I don't think it's that strong. I don't even think it's a hope. It's more of an idea. I try to forget about most, but some are good. Some I really like. Yet it seems that every time the ideas are shattered.
And it's always a great mystery. I don't see myself as putting that much into them, I don't see them as mattering that much, yet the smallest things impact me so much. Even the things that shouldn't matter. At all. They still do, a lot.
And I come back to the same conundrum each time. I hate it, because it seems like both ways are dead ends. It's obvious I'm looking for something. Life is pretty bad without it, and it seems like everyone else thinks I should have it. But I can't get it. It's like I want it, but when it comes down to it, I can't say yes, I can't accept it, I can't want it. And it isn't much later that I start to want it again, wondering why I didn't take it.
I struggle to understand it, but can't. I have such a hard time accepting it, and I think it's at least partially due to trust. I don't trust anyone enough. There are too many that pretend to care, and that just makes things worse. It's like they're mocking me, saying, "hey, I'll be nice to you, and pretend to care, but I really don't."
So I draw back my standards. I try to find people that do care, even just enough to say hello. And just when I think I've got some, it's all gone.
And then I can't ask anyone to care. How could I? That would kind of defeat the purpose.
And I couldn't let them care, anyway.
And I ask, can they care? Is it possible? Even if it is, should they? Because what is there to care about? I think about it, and I'm nothing, so how could anybody care about that?
And eventually I end up feeling like I don't need anyone to care. I'm fine alone. But I know that's not true, because I miss the little glimmers of hope that I know will never last.
Sometimes I go home happy, and sometimes I go home sad. But it always goes back to the blah aloneness.

Classes

When I went to the orientation for college, I came in thinking it would be pretty much a waste of time. If I had never been there before and knew nothing about it, then I think it would have been alright.
When they went over their strategies for being a successful student, they were talking about studying regularly, looking over notes, reading chapters. I was thinking, what, you actually have to try now? Amazing!
So far at least, that hasn't been the case.
Chemistry - Monday/Wednesday 12:00-14:00, Lab Tuesday 12:00-15:00 - It began like a song by Jurassic 5:

Edit.
OK, let's begin!
Compound: A substance composed of...

Actually, it took us a while to get to that point. We had to discuss what science and matter are first. And so on.
I think this class is a ridiculous waste of time for two reasons:
1. Why do I have to take this when I had the same thing in high school?
2. Why does everybody have to take this when it has nothing to do with some areas of study?
I guess that chemistry just doesn't appeal to me. It's cool, but I'm just not interested. It's not as cool as with Mr. B, and we probably won't create the [fun] havoc we did back then. I'm thinking we'll get to where that class left off. Eventually. I'm looking forward to that, and I'd rather it be boring than... well... some things.
Psychology - Tuesday/Thursday 15:30-17:00 - No homework. The first "project" is probably not as bad as some of the regular worksheets we've had in chemistry. It's interesting, though. Basically listen and be interested and study a little for the test (we'll see how that goes).
Engineering Graphics - Monday/Wednesday 15:00-17:00 - The only non-art class that you get to just draw for? Plus it's on the computer, so if you know how to type in numbers to make the lines the right length, you're good. I'm looking forward to learning how to actually do it right (and, eventually, 3D). You can get the software to use at home, so of course I did that (even though I have to run it in Vista), and that way I can do all my work at home and not have to go to class on the days he gives you to work on it.
English - Thursday 18:00-21:00 - The never-ending three-hour night class. I'm glad about two things:
1. I didn't have to take 101
2. I only need 102
It's a cool class, though. We only have three papers and we'll gradually work through each of them. It's kind of like AP Lit, except now we're writing about real stuff, not books. Our first paper is about the election. We have to pick an issue and write about it. We're also reading through a book that tells us how to write effectively. I think the hardest part has been finding an issue that I care enough about to write a big paper about. I finally settled on energy.
In chemistry lab you are kind of free to go about your business and you sort of get to know some people, as well as with the "group" activities in class. But with English I feel I get to know the people much better, because we have a lot more time to discuss things as a class or with partners (which has always been the same partner, but that's fine), and add our thoughts online (though I don't really match names online to people in the class).

Math comes next semester. We'll see how much calculus I've forgotten by then. Of course, I'll review before then. Yeah. Right.
I started a page of quotes for Heartland. I was thinking that my time there would be interesting enough that I wouldn't have to have something like that to do. I was wrong.

They block IM and mail, though, which I think is ridiculous. What's the point? If you let me get to web mail, why not IMAP/POP? And no IM? Not that I would have anyone to IM during the day, anyway (and I'm sure you can tunnel it somehow). It's not like it takes that much bandwidth. Besides, I can get oven 1 MB a second (yes, that's bytes, which means 8 Mb/s) downloads... but I have experienced getting "kicked off" during that. I'm not sure whether it's them or me, but I've had issues reconnecting at times. And my USB drive works on some computers, but claims it needs admin rights to install its software on others.

Overall college is nice, though. Even though it's been about the same waste of time that high school was, it wastes less time. I'm hoping that after first or second semester it picks up a bit.
It's kind of weird still working at the school. It's actually how I always wanted it to be, though. I get to wander around the district and get stuff done, almost no questions asked. No being stuck in classrooms waiting for the bell. And then I get to leave halfway through.

It is kind of lonely, though. The only place I really know people, I'm on my own, and, if they're not in class, neither I nor they have time to stop and chat much (unless they're in B's class, which incidentally tends to park its activities right outside the "office"). And I kind of wish I had more time to get to know them more, but I don't (as if I would actually make that happen anyway).
And then I leave for college, where I know almost nobody, but I have to spend class and downtime there.
And then I'm back home, where there is nobody.
Special ed has taken over Roach's room. Mr. B has been evicted to a different room. There are now speed bumps around the high school parking lot. Yes, the good times are over.
But you're still too late to join our fun detention.

Worst Real Estate Ads Ever

I'm doing a project on Australia for government class, which must include something or other about homes in the country. Slightly surprisingly, I could not really find much by searching "Australian house." I've learned to think in the other direction... if someone were to post a picture of their house which is in Australia, what would they call it or say about it? Or where would they put it?
So I went to http://www.realestate.com.au/ and started looking for homes from 100,000 to 500,000. I found some really interesting and amusing pictures and listings. I thought I'd share a few here. All are actual pictures from that site, used as the main picture that comes up when you search.



The No Picture
Seriously, you're posting online, without a picture? When 99.99% have a picture readily available, why make the effort?



The Not Real Picture
Oh boy oh boy, it's what I've always wanted!
If it's a development site, fine, include an impression of what it should look like someday. But if it's a real house, I'd rather have a No Picture than be fed this crap.



The [Disappointing] View
If it's on the ocean or has some spectacular scenery, great. But this is a bad picture of a generic view. And you could at least wait for a clearer, sunnier day for a picture, because some of them are overcast and even gloomier.



The Aerial View / Google Earth
Roughly how many times would you say we will be approaching our house at this angle? It is almost as bad as no picture, since it's hardly relevant. The arrow makes it look like a joke.
And don't just use something off of Google Earth. I can find that on my own if I really want to see the property from above to say, "Nice roof, even though you can't see it that well?" As a primary picture, that's not a good idea.



The Obstructions
If your property has a "bush setting," I can understand some trees and such in the way. In which case a picture of a bunch of trees is not interesting here. But what are you going for, the house or the bush? It really looks like there were better vantage points than directly in front of a bush. It also looks like you're hiding something.



The Locations
It's all about location, right? Well the title for this one was the kicker; make this your new home! An empty dirt lot? No thanks... I'd like a house.

The Titles

Grab this one with both hands!

Call sercurity!

Do they mean "security?" And... that doesn't seem to be a good idea to me. Maybe it's a regional thing.

Shady home central!

Well I guess it's better than being shady seller central...

House of many uses

I guess that's good... but isn't that implied? They said it was a retail plant business and coffee shop... I end up just thinking it very used.

The Edge of Reason

I guess I'll begin with the general stuff.
Let's see, what has happened since I last posted?
I think this semester is better as far as school goes. Which is really ironic when I think about it (more on that later). Band has been fine. I got a day out of school to go play in the honors band. It was a long day that reminded me of band camp, without knowing everyone and without the heat and the sun and the outside. I enjoyed the challenge (as usual), though I felt I didn't do as well as anyone else in the first row (why I was put there, I do not know).

The saxophone is God's instrument.

Are you the only one playing there?
It appears so.

You learn your music on your own. Rehearsal is for learning other people's music.

Two schools just didn't show up, but we managed like 140 people anyway.
WYSE has been good. I've had a lot of fun and not gotten in trouble for trailing things from the bus window. But we did get in trouble (not by Mr. B, but almost literally) for taping two people together. I felt more prepared than last year, especially with English, but I think that it was much harder than last year.

Evidently the dinosaurs OD'd on plant drugs.

We even got a tunnel, and the whole team gets to go to state, which is great. I even got to miss two school days in a row for WYSE and then the honors band (and evidently a few other people did, too).
Math is alright. Each new lesson seems like it's beyond me, but I finally get it. I haven't been doing as well as I'd like on my tests, though. I can find the answer... it just isn't always on the first try. Maybe I should work on that. Having a history teacher for a week wasn't that bad, though.
Spanish has been fine. I miss the sub we had when Sra was gone for like 3 months, but it's good to have Sra back. It's fun and easy as usual.

It's Tex-o-Mex-o, not Mex-o-straight-up-o.

AP Lit has been alright. I like the things we discuss (well, some of them), and I found some more respect for the teacher.
Yearbook has been really interesting. My strategy of "ignore the problem and hopefully it will go away" didn't work too well and my grade took a huge dive. Luckily it's a really lenient class, so it's on the up and up now. I just have to find a baseball game that's not cancelled or at the same time as something I have to go to.
PE is still great. They decided to have a DDR unit, and I'm just glad it wasn't mandatory. I've never done it (I don't think, I'm not sure), but I really just don't like the style. And evidently:
If DDR = acceptable Then;
Import video-games
GuitarHero = acceptable
EndIf
They also went and looked up cheat codes. The first day they unlocked "Monkey-Head Crowd" just fine, but couldn't get all the songs unlocked. The second day we got some people that were able to do it. So I played that once, and waited to play it for the rest of the days. Because that's how I roll. And instead of doing nothing like I could have, I stress-tested a couple of the workout machines. They did fine. But it's not entirely safe to do with only one foot...
Government is great still. I really enjoyed mock trials. I was surprised (pleasantly, I guess) at the outcome of the trial I was a lawyer for, and shocked at the outcome of the trial I was defendant for. THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE, I TELL YOU!!!!
So now it's off to law, and then countries.
Luckily by then that's the only real class I will have, because:
Band = over after May 6
Math = over after May 8
Spanish = not real class
AP Lit = over after May 7
Yearbook = over after April 30
PE = not real class
Study Hall = not real class
Government = always real class
So yeah. DI has been interesting. We have finally started to really understand what we're supposed to do (I think), and looking forward to going to state. I'm looking forward to WYSE, too.
Oh, and my job. Despite the fact that I have to get up at 0500 every morning to be at work by 0600, I really like it, and even that fact isn't so bad. I learned more in the first month than I thought I would all year. I've gotten great experience (including bad experiences, but they're good for learning). Plus I've made some money.
Linux is awesome as usual. I think they've added some more plugins for the effects. I finally figured out how to get transparent window borders (like Vista, but not, since you can do so much better). Plus I think that the new background is the most awesome default background ever (even though I won't use it). I broke my really nice LCD... it fell face first into a pyramidal paper weight. And I guess the bigger hard drive that I put in failed within a month so I had to move back to the one I had in the first place. A bit of a waste of time there, but that's not new in my computer exploits.

So, about the reason I wrote this in the first place. Which I've kind of forgotten by now. Maybe I did that on purpose.
A certain post went out to me. And first of all, thank you.
I guess I expected it but didn't at the same time. I didn't expect the source, either, though, looking back, it makes perfect sense. Sometimes I'm a very confused individual. I've partially been hoping for something like this to happen. But I don't really like it. That sounds very familiar to me. It's like hiding, but on a bigger scale.
But, as usual, there is a touch of reality to it.
I think that this year started well but fell flat eventually. I guess I'll be real about it here. I just lost my direction and reason in life. It gradually slipped away from me. Jessica's been so busy with work and school that we hardly ever see each other. She will say that it's not entirely on her end, and I will say that that is true. There are other problems, though, and I think it's just the darkness.
It's been bad at times. I lost all hope. I felt insignificant and useless. I seriously considered my options. I would like to quote a book here. I really identified with this:

I have wrestled with death. It is the most unexciting contest you can imagine. It takes place in an impalpable grayness, with nothing underfoot, with nothing around, without spectators, without clamor, without glory, without the great desire of victory, without the great fear of defeat, in a sickly atmosphere of tepid skepticism, without much belief in your own right, and still less in that of your adversary.
from Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad

I decided that the reason they don't let you bring anything dangerous to school is so you can't hurt yourself.
I decided, though, (obviously?) against it. At least temporarily, for this or that.
What happened was a deep re-questioning of my life, and my faith did not stand up.
If I have not responded to the aforementioned post, I respond to it now. I posted what I felt. What was true. I don't know what you're referring to specifically. Maybe we should talk more about this. But I know what you address in general. And partially I said it to be heard.
So that's how I felt. I lost my way. I was faced with the size and complexity and darkness of the world I saw. I didn't see how I could continue.
It seems like no one reall cares. But that's a lame excuse, and it's not true. Obviously people do. There has to be something else to it.
I am finding myself much closer to hope again. My faith was never really real to me, and I think I knew that. Especially at the end. And I guess what I've learned, is, if it doesn't seem real, relevant, pertinent, then I need to reevaluate it, because I must have some misunderstanding.
I would love to find all the answers, to figure everything out. But that's more of a life goal that still will never be reached (it's more of a philosophy), and if I wait on it, I will never move forward.
And the answer does lie in that search for the answers, and the frequent lack thereof. It's how you seek them that matters. And I'm not thinking I really want to take that on alone.