Peeve Farm

g r o t t o 1 1

Peeve Farm
Breeding peeves for show, not just to keep as pets

  Blog \Blôg\, n. [Jrg, fr. Jrg. "Web-log".
     See {Blogger, BlogSpot, LiveJournal}.]
     A stream-of-consciousness Web journal, containing
     links, commentary, and pointless drivel.

On My Blog Menu:

InstaPundit
USS Clueless
James Lileks
Little Green Footballs
As the Apple Turns
Entropicana
Cold Fury
Capitalist Lion
Red Letter Day
Eric S. Raymond
Tal G in Jerusalem
Secular Islam
Aziz Poonawalla
Corsair the Rational Pirate
.clue

« ? Blogging Brians # »

Book Plug:

Buy it and I get
money. I think.
BSD Mall

10/6/2003 -  10/8/2003
9/29/2003 -  10/5/2003
9/22/2003 -  9/28/2003
9/15/2003 -  9/21/2003
  9/8/2003 -  9/14/2003
  9/1/2003 -   9/7/2003
8/25/2003 -  8/31/2003
8/18/2003 -  8/24/2003
8/11/2003 -  8/17/2003
  8/4/2003 -  8/10/2003
7/28/2003 -   8/3/2003
7/21/2003 -  7/27/2003
7/14/2003 -  7/20/2003
  7/7/2003 -  7/13/2003
6/30/2003 -   7/6/2003
6/23/2003 -  6/29/2003
6/16/2003 -  6/22/2003
  6/9/2003 -  6/15/2003
  6/2/2003 -   6/8/2003
5/26/2003 -   6/1/2003
5/19/2003 -  5/25/2003
5/12/2003 -  5/18/2003
  5/5/2003 -  5/11/2003
4/28/2003 -   5/4/2003
4/21/2003 -  4/27/2003
4/14/2003 -  4/20/2003
  4/7/2003 -  4/13/2003
3/31/2003 -   4/6/2003
3/24/2003 -  3/30/2003
3/17/2003 -  3/23/2003
3/10/2003 -  3/16/2003
  3/3/2003 -   3/9/2003
2/24/2003 -   3/2/2003
2/17/2003 -  2/23/2003
2/10/2003 -  2/16/2003
  2/3/2003 -   2/9/2003
1/27/2003 -   2/2/2003
1/20/2003 -  1/26/2003
1/13/2003 -  1/19/2003
  1/6/2003 -  1/12/2003
12/30/2002 -   1/5/2003
12/23/2002 - 12/29/2002
12/16/2002 - 12/22/2002
12/9/2002 - 12/15/2002
12/2/2002 -  12/8/2002
11/25/2002 -  12/1/2002
11/18/2002 - 11/24/2002
11/11/2002 - 11/17/2002
11/4/2002 - 11/10/2002
10/28/2002 -  11/3/2002
10/21/2002 - 10/27/2002
10/14/2002 - 10/20/2002
10/7/2002 - 10/13/2002
9/30/2002 -  10/6/2002
9/23/2002 -  9/29/2002
9/16/2002 -  9/22/2002
  9/9/2002 -  9/15/2002
  9/2/2002 -   9/8/2002
8/26/2002 -   9/1/2002
8/19/2002 -  8/25/2002
8/12/2002 -  8/18/2002
  8/5/2002 -  8/11/2002
7/29/2002 -   8/4/2002
7/22/2002 -  7/28/2002
7/15/2002 -  7/21/2002
  7/8/2002 -  7/14/2002
  7/1/2002 -   7/7/2002
6/24/2002 -  6/30/2002
6/17/2002 -  6/23/2002
6/10/2002 -  6/16/2002
  6/3/2002 -   6/9/2002
5/27/2002 -   6/2/2002
5/20/2002 -  5/26/2002
5/13/2002 -  5/19/2002
  5/6/2002 -  5/12/2002
4/29/2002 -   5/5/2002
4/22/2002 -  4/28/2002
4/15/2002 -  4/21/2002
  4/8/2002 -  4/14/2002
  4/1/2002 -   4/7/2002
3/25/2002 -  3/31/2002
3/18/2002 -  3/24/2002
3/11/2002 -  3/17/2002
  3/4/2002 -  3/10/2002
2/25/2002 -   3/3/2002
2/18/2002 -  2/24/2002
2/11/2002 -  2/17/2002
  2/4/2002 -  2/10/2002
1/28/2002 -   2/3/2002
1/21/2002 -  1/27/2002
1/14/2002 -  1/20/2002
  1/7/2002 -  1/13/2002
12/31/2001 -   1/6/2002
12/24/2001 - 12/30/2001
12/17/2001 - 12/23/2001

Friday, September 5, 2003
01:16 - Pleasant Surprises	(top)
I was about in the mood for some good news today. Fortunately, fate conspired to bring me some. First of all, we were coming back from lunch, when we saw this: And I thought, hmm-- what happened to the G5 banner? Is the G5 pass� already? And that's an awfully weird iPod ad; very un-Apple in a way. No "real people", no richly lit real-world scenarios like what Apple's ads have all been lately. This one's designy, modern, subtle, urban-hip. Very nice, really. Just... different. That in itself wasn't the good news I mentioned. Just weird. I resolved to check the Apple site when I got back to the office, to see if there was some new iPod promo that warranted eclipsing the G5. (There wasn't.) But as we got on De Anza southward, and passed the octagonal anchor-building in the little mini-mall right across the boulevard from the Apple Campus where Elite Computers by Computerware, formerly Elite Computers, had once stood (only to shut its doors for good about six months ago, inexplicably, after having bought out the whole Bay Area-wide 20-year-old ComputerWare chain that had shut its doors about a year before and subseqently built up and expanded aggressively, only to suddenly implode one day), we saw this: What? What? You've got to be kidding me! What is this-- some kind of absurd practical joke? Has Apple started putting up little billboard banners of its own, in abandoned buildings, just because it can? Have they taken up the task of posting banners of new products right where Elite always used to do it, as a kind of goofy nostalgia or sick parody? What does "G5 in stock" mean-- there's an empty, darkened showroom with a stack of G5s sittng in the middle, with a sign saying "Leave your money on the table"? We hung a right, pulled in, and went inside. Actually, we weren't far off. The showroom was mostly empty, manned by a couple of characters I'd never seen before. They had set up a couple of Elite's old display stands, the iMac and the 14" iBook, right near the door. Otherwise, though, the floor was eerily bare. They smiled from the island, tiredly, like they weren't in any mood to answer the question, "What, you're back?" for the nine zillionth time today. "The chain has been bought out," they said, "By Executron." You mean the guys from Santa Rosa? I'd pegged them as dying back in 1993! But no, there they are! Same old location. And now apparently they've resurrected the ComputerWare name once again! It's the Brand That Would Not Die! Its long, long history of serving Silicon Valley's Mac needs will not be interrupted. Not for more than a few months, anyway. But there in the back was a G5. And let me tell you, this thing will be the subject of some pretty intense photo-blogging when mine gets here, because it is a monster. It's a work of art, in numerous different ways. I can't even begin to describe how unlike every other computer it is. So I won't even try, until I have the pictures to back it up. But that's today's news. We took our leave with the assurance that we'd be visiting often in the future, and somehow the world seemed a little brighter again.