It would be a gross understatement to say that a lot of bad things have happened this year, to all of us as a nation, and as a culture. The two things which come to mind right away are the botched presidential election, (which almost lead us into a constitutional crisis), and the hideous, tragic terrorist attack on our nation, the shock waves and aftereffects from which, will be felt for years to come. But in this column entry, I would like to talk about some good news. It’s something I have recently learned, and it has given me some hope, that maybe, just maybe, we’ll be all right. And what is this great thing I have learned?

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“One morning we set sail, with brains on fire,
And hearts swelled up with rancorous emotion,
Balancing, to the rhythm of its lyre,
Our infinite upon the finite ocean.”
Charles BaudelaireWhy do we write?

We write because of the Human Condition. Life as we know and experience it must find some outlet in those of us who live it, love it, or endure it. We must express these things somehow.

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Mac Bashers, and Other Tales of Halloween Horror.

One of the things I promised myself, when I decided to start contributing to MyMac.com, was that I would not write about the technical side of Mac ownership and use. The reason? There are already plenty of help sites out there, and plenty of information, from people who know the platform to a much higher degree than I do. The fact that I have been using and loving the Mac since it was introduced in 1984 does not make me a “Mac Genius” by any means. Oh sure, I know some tricks, and I have yet to get into a situation that I couldn’t get out of by myself, but still, I don’t consider myself to be a Mac Genius. ( For example, I still don’t know what an “error of-47 has occurred” means, although I guess I could find out if I wanted to know badly enough. ) Oh, I help people out if I am able to do so, and if I can’t, I refer them to people who can and will.( And if any of you are using system 7.1, I cannot help you. You must get a more modern system, sorry. ) Oh yes, for some odd reason, younger users are fascinated by my tales of such arcane things as “teletype interfaces,” and “Paper punch tape readers,” from those dark days of the 1970′s. Some 20-somethings actually believe that there were dinosaurs roaming the planet back then. Oh well. But enough of that. Today, I have to break my own promise, sort of.

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My brain hurts, and I am tired. In the aftermath of the event (what will we end up calling it, because it has no fancy name yet; the horror? the destruction? September 11? the terrorist act?) my brain has frozen. Words cannot be formed, my opinions change daily. Too much information yet not enough, and who does one believe? CNN, the alternative press, the government of the US, the governments of the middle east, individuals, groups with agendas, close personal friends, family, everyone it seems has an opinion of who and why and what can be done or not done about it.

I’m Jane Bland, and my brain hurts.

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Well, here it is, that time of year when the big TV networks dump the shows that are stink bombs, (or, those programs that are not pulling in the “desired demographic”, apparently teenagers who spend their time and money at the mall.) and replace them with, you guessed it, more stink bombs. So, being the good little writer that I am, I am once again trying my fingers at writing for tv.

Hey look, I cannot be worse at this, than the people who are doing it now, right? So, here goes: (And I admit, I was wrong about “Dark Angel”. It’s a decent show, and Jessica Alba is a hottie. My “Dirty Old Man” extensions are loaded and active.)

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I see strange things going on with my neighbors these days. Much more than usual. One such member of our little community is busy selling off most of his possessions, only to buy other things such as survival gear, guns, and quantities of canned goods. His next door neighbor just bought an expensive new SUV complete with a power winch and off road tires, which he could not afford.

Like everyone of us, these people are responding to the events of September 11th, and the suddenly hostile world around us. Before that time, the biggest doings around here was the yearly Bar-B-Que on our little cul-de-sac.

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As a denizen of modern society I suppose all the information I receive is meant to empower me – however most times I am simply numbed by it. At the office, armed with my wireless head set, I am battered from all sides with time consuming emails, unnecessary phone calls, Post-its, and a generic PC that dies at regular intervals regardless which year OS is loaded. What’s a poor slob to do?

I have long ago given up on the Information Age hype that having the latest electronic gadget is next to godliness or that the new DSL connection will bring me the Nirvana I crave. Did you know that an average daily newspaper carries more information than a contemporary of Shakespeare’s would acquire in a lifetime? Am I better off then he?

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I hope you just read Bruce Blacks column “Banks” before you read this. His is an excellent article; one I wish I had written myself. Then again, that has been true of all of Bruce’s columns so far. Great writer, and I am pleased as punch to have him here. (Pleased as punch? I never talk like that “in real life” so why do I here? Of course, in real life, I would have said, “Having Bruce at MyMac.com is awesome. Anyway, banks. Bruce made some really great points, as is his usual. There are a few more personal observations I just HAD to make after reading his column.

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A little more than a year ago, I purchased a G4. It is a dual processor 500MHz system, and has thus far been the most reliable machine I have ever owned. More on this machine in a moment.

Two years ago, when people would ask me “Should I buy a computer now, or wait? I don’t want to buy something that will be obsolete in a month.” I would give them the best answer at the time I could. “Buy it now. No sense in waiting. It will be obsolete within six months anyway, so buy what you can afford now and learn to live with it.” (By obsolete, we are referring to speed and features, not usability.)

But is that as true today as it was two years ago?

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