OS X Lion: Top 5 New Features from a PC User

Also available in a special "Disney Princess" edition.

Apple has finally released its new OS, Mac OS X Lion.  While I no longer tote around a Mac, I definitely wanted to take the time to lay out my top five favorite new features included in the OS, pulled directly from apple.com.  Is it worth $30?  Who knows?  Read on to see the wonderful world of Lion!

1. Multi-touch Gestures

If you've ever used a Mac's two-finger scroll, there's not much more I can tell you.  Windows hardware is plagued by low quality at best, non-existent at worst, multi-touch gestures.  While I won't say that touch is the future of laptop and desktop interaction, it can be damn useful in certain situations.  I love you two-finger scroll.

2.  Auto Save

Alright, so I am admitting that this post is going to radically decay into features that are totally underwhelming.  This feature falls somewhere in the middle.  Apple is touting a new auto save feature that saves in the background so you're not interrupted, saves everything in a single file, and allows you to return to old versions.  Now, I admit this is fantastic... except I'm not sure what applications don't already perform this very same task.  As it turns out, I'm pretty sure Microsoft Word has auto saved for maybe a decade and I know for a fact that Google Docs has done the same for quite some time.  So way to advertise something that's been around for years.  But really, that's what Apple does best.

3.  Full Screen Apps

Oh thank goodness.  While I will concede that full screen applications can be useful on an 11" screen, the benefit outside of that situation is limited.  However, even in that situation, is my life really improved considerably by removing a menu bar at the top of the screen that occupies maybe 1/20 of my screen?  I'm so relieved that I can read one more line of text in emails or web pages.  PS.  Apple includes full screen Calender, Mail, Photo Booth, Preview, Quick Time, Safari, etc., as well as the ability to exit full screen mode as part of its 250 new features.  Bravo Apple.  Bravo.

4.  Launch Pad

Launch Pad is a single location where you can launch any of your applications.  If only there had been a way to launch applications prior to this!?  As I recall, the only way to accomplish this was to 1.) launch from the desktop; 2.) launch from the dock; 3.) launch from Spotlight; 4.) launch from the applications folder.  Really, four ways was too few.  Often, I myself was lost when faced with the agonizing task of opening iTunes.  In addition, Launch Pad allows you to organize your apps any way you like and delete apps.  Again, if only this was possible prior to Lion!?  Um, it was.

5.  Finder

And finally, the last upgrade impressed upon me is Finder's ability to let you view all your files in a single window. For the record, a quick view of the total files in my "Program Files" folder on my computer yielded a total of nearly 80,000 files.  I can't tell you how relieved I am that Mac OS X Lion is finally allowing me to view all of those in a single window.  Because, many of my computing problems have certainly resulted from me not being able to view thousands of files at once.  Again, Apple pushes the boundary of computing.


I hope you were informed.  Rock on $30.  Unless you haven't upgraded to the version prior to Lion, in which case that will cost you $30 first, then Lion will cost another $30.  Another one of the 250 upgrades I presume.

Take that you Rich, Snobby Schools

Also, a teacher told me today that she has a window AC unit.  Seriously?!   No wonder we have a budget problem when teachers are paid that kind of salary.

The budget battle of Minnesota has ended, and thank god we borrowed money from those rich, snobby schools to fix our problems.  The education budget bill, passed after the longest shutdown in state history and through a compromise between Dayton and the no-new-spending GOP, delays $700 million in order to balance the state budget.  That's 40 percent of their total budget that will be delayed, and it couldn't come a minute sooner.  In fact, we should have come up with this idea earlier, since every time I go to a school, I see students with champagne flutes and monocles frolicking through the halls.  But wait, we did think of this already.  Last year, 30 percent of payments were on hold.  It's a relief to me that we've bumped it to 40 percent this year.

Although, I will say that I'm a bit disappointed in those generous, socialist Republicans.  Can you believe that in this year's budget they upped the amount the State gives schools per student by $50?  That is disgusting.  I'm sick of these teachers, students, custodians, you name the school employee, rolling up to the school, or "palace" as I call it,  in BMWs and Maseratis.  The only solace I have is that 40 percent of the $50 will be delayed, setting the payment at a cool $20 per student.

Now that's how you manage a budget.  You see, it's like we're not spending the money as long as we're not paying it right away.  It's called being responsible.  It's something you bleeding heart liberals wouldn't understand.  Sometimes daddy just needs to say no to the kids.  So to you spoiled, oversupplied, too well fed, too many after school program offered students, I say boohoo, too bad.  Our state is finally being responsible, refusing to tax the richest 0.3 percent of Minnesotans, and borrowing money to balance the budget.

Transformers 3 Adventure: Part One: Robots are Mad... again!

This is the log of my journey through Transformers 3.  Beginning to end.  For better or worse.

BEFORE THE MOVIE

I hate most movies, but I will...

Okay.  So I'm a Transformers fan.  Not of the movie, TV show, or the potentially existing comics, but of the concept.  Robots fighting.  I can get on board with that.  This is my mind set going to the movie.  I watched the previews.  Some robots fired some missiles.  They talked some robo smack.  I was in.

I've watched 1.5 of the previous 2 movies.  Not too bad in my opinion.  Here's the plot:  Apparently some robots got mad at each other on another planet, and now they're mad at each other here on earth.  Beyond that, I'm not sure why humans are consulted or considered in the robots' wheelings and dealings, but apparently we are.  For the most part, that's the plot.  As iterated in the previous paragraph, I'm still on board.

Here's my aspirations for the movie: please let robots fight.  The previews looked promising.  I can't really remember if the previous movies had a lot of robot fighting.  Oh what the hell, look at all those robots.  The whole fucking movie must be only robot fighting.  Fingers crossed.

Name Chosen, Achievement Unlocked, Participation Award

Two-Wheel Observer.  That's the name.  Erictalk is a fine title, but I've never liked using my own name in the title of my blog.  Imagine if the main character of every Steven King title was, "Steve, Steven, or Stevie."  Not cool man.

Minnesota GOP: WTF?

Minnesota has been a chasm of political fighting for the past year.  Month in and month out, before the session even started, Dayton and the GOP have been hammering their positions.  Each were fully aware of the budget scenario and each had very clear goal:

Dayton:  Wanted to raise taxes to fill the budget deficit, avoiding cuts to current programs as they existed.

GOP:  Wanted to spend exactly what the State would bring in, which would result in a need to cut funding in certain areas of the budget due to the projected increase in costs.

Okay, so we've go two relatively clear goals.  'New spending to continue programs as they are' and 'no new spending; modify programs as needed.'

Now, I'll admit that I'm a liberal and I supported Dayton.  I just flat out would rather the government provide more help to citizens if they need it.  That's me.  No hard feelings.  However, I can respect and understand the opposing argument if it is logical. My problem is that the GOP was illogical for a majority of the session and illogical in its resolution.  Here's why:

Go back to Dayton's goal as I laid it out.  He wanted to keep full funding for programs as they existed.  Despite that the revenue came from a shift and a loan against tobacco settlement payments, the resolution was consistent with his goal: to fund the current programs as much as possible.  Taxes were the means to this end.

However, the GOP goal was essentially that spending not increase.  Sure the resolution didn't involve any new taxes, but they still authorized a spending increase.  Moreover, the GOP regularly touted how the State needs to be responsible and live within its means.  Yet, the resolution was solved by borrowing and a one time source of money.  While that rhetoric isn't necessarily contradicted by the chosen solution, I an inconsistency is present.

Ultimately, my problem with the GOP is that they did exactly what they've been so damn insistent on not doing.  Not only that, but they did it in the worst possible way, through debt and one time money.  Whether you believe government should be smaller or larger, whether taxes should increase or decrease, it should at least be done in a responsible way.  But that should have been fucking obvious.

GOP to Dayton: "You talking is a non-starter"

As the shutdown continues, it seems that budget negotiations between the GOP House leader Kurt Zeller, GOP Senate leader Amy Koch, and DFL Governor Mark Dayton continue to deteriorate.  While past debates between the two sides were marked by the Republican assertion that any increase in taxes would be a "non-starter," the GOP has upped the tension by stating that any attempt by Dayton to speak would be a "non-starter" as well.

Dayton, disappointed by this turn of events, responded that "we had already taken a step back in progress, but this is like taking five more steps back.  And we had only gone two steps forward to begin with.  We're not even on the Earth anymore."

Dayton has already sent a counteroffer to the Republicans, offering to use typed letters, sign language, or a series of pictures to help move the process forward.

Rumors coming from cone-of-silence talks between the two parties indicated that the GOP may be willing to allow Dayton to communicate with them through a series of other people performing sign language for him.  However, Koch and Zellers stated in a press conference today that any type of speech, whether it's written, drawn, signed, or done through another is a non-starter.

Dayton is reportedly hopeful that the GOP will change its attitude as the shutdown continues, but he states that his optimism is, "non-started."

Supreme Court Rules that it can do "pretty much anything."

"We're like a bunch of fucking supervillains."

Today, the Supreme Court handed down a unanimous decision in SCOTUS v. United States.  The case, brought up and decided by the Supreme Court without any prompting by anyone, followed a long string of precedent beginning with Marbury v. Madison affirming that the Supreme Court can do pretty much whatever it wants, whenever it wants.

Written Per Curiam, the Court cited Marbury's famous language, "it is emphatically the province and duty of the Judicial Department to say what the law is, " clarifying that this basically means that "we make the god damn rules."

Many are critical of the decision, stating that the Constitution does not give the judiciary the power to do whatever it wants, to which the Court responded, "Judicial review bitch."  The Supreme Court particularly called out critics charging the Court with being too active in the past, stating that "if they don't like it, they can vote us out.  Ha.  Ha.  Ha."

While some scholars believe this represents a radical shift in the Court's policy, many are stating that this is nothing new to the United States.  Former Justice Stevens gave his opinion, explaining that, "in the past, if we wanted school's desegregated, you better believe they were desegregated.  If we wanted some tapes from the president, likewise, he did it with a smile.  And, if the current Court wants every U.S. citizen to marry a person of the same sex while buying state offered health care, you'll all fucking do it."

President Obama and Congress have responded by passing a law stating that it is "emphatically the province and duty of all branches but the Judicial Department to say what the law is," but the Court is expected to strike the law down on the basis of the rule of the school yard: we got here first.