December 2008 Archives

I think I have to apologize to all the 30gb Zune people out there. I’ve been looking and hoping for an excuse to go buy one of the new 120gb Zunes.  But there is (was) nothing wrong with my 30gb, so I had no justification.  Well, just like washing your car on a weekend causing it to rain on Monday, I’m pretty sure that I’ve wished my way into a problem.  And for this, I apologize to all you other 30gb Zune owners out there.  It’s my fault, mea culpa.

So what happened to my Zune and everyone else’s all at the same time?  We’re all locked up at the boot screen!  Crazy.  All 25 of us (I’m presuming that it’s only affecting those of us who updated to the latest firmware), are completely dead in the water.  This is Microsoft’s one blurb that they have on the Zune site.

“Customers with 30gb Zune devices may experience issues when booting their Zune hardware.  We’re aware of the problem and are working to correct it.  Sorry for the inconvenience, and thanks for your patience!”

Now, I have to admit this is a pretty huge problem.  I’m only half hoping that Microsoft can solve it, because as I’ve stated above, I would like to have an excuse to buy a new one.  And if they can’t solve it, perhaps they’ll offer some sort of rebate/discount on purchasing a new one.

On the other hand, this really is the first problem that I’ve had with the Zune.  I love the software, the subscription service, and the fact that every time they come out with a new Zune, I can upgrade my firmware to have all the features of the new one.  (Hence the non-need to buy the new Zune).

And of course, this is a whole lot of fodder for all my MS-hating friends.

If I thought the natives were restless before, we were within a single degree of the actual freezing point this morning. I got up after the sun started rising, so who knows, maybe we actually hit the 32 mark as well.  I would say something about snow and missing a white Christmas, but it really only gets this cold here when there is a high pressure system over us.  That means, of course, no precipitation. 

Oh well.  I’m sure I’ll be hearing people talking about how cold it was this morning.

I think I might have to go out and take a brisk walk to get some modicum of nostalgia.

-E

The Fusion I bought on Saturday is equipped with the “Sync” system.  This has three main features.

1. Automatic Bluetooth connections (for phone calls or streaming music from your phone)
2. The ability to use/search/listen to anything on your mp3 player (Zune in my case) through the car system, without having to mess with the player itself while driving
3. The ability to control all of this with your voice.

Sometimes I feel like I’m only a couple steps from driving KITT.  My car doesn’t make witty remarks in a snotty pseudo-english accent, but it does talk to me when I make requests, “Play Artist, April Wine”,

“Phone Becky.”

“Would you like to call her at home, on cell, or at work?” she’ll ask me (it’s a female voice).

“At home”

So far so good. I need to learn a some more of the tricks to using it (e.g. some of the more obscure commands for narrowing music searches and such).  But all in all, I’m very happy with it.

Read more about Ford Sync Powered by Microsoft here

My trusty Taurus was about to cross the 100K threshold, and with that, lose it’s bumper to bumper warranty.  Since I drive 70 miles a day to get to work and back, I need to make sure that I have a reliable car.  So, I’ve been looking on the ‘net for something that I could fit into that I liked and that fit my budget.  I found the Fusion just might fit both criteria. 

I went to the dealership today to see what might happen with the following in mind.

1. I have a car with 100K miles on it.
2. I still owe more than a year and a half on that car.
3. By the time the car is paid off, it will have about 125K miles on it.
4. The warranty will be gone for that last 25K.
5. If I can find a car that I like for the same payment I’m making I’ll take it
6. I don’t HAVE to get a new car yet.

Armed with this knowledge I hit the Ford dealership.  I found the car I wanted!!  :)  a 2009 Ford Fusion.  And I’m only paying $25 a month more.  I’ll post more details about the car this week, I’m sure.  For now, just wanted to share my excitement with the world!!

Well, woke up this morning to 37 degree temps.  We’re creeping down to that freezing point.I doubt we’ll ever get  there, but you never really know.  Go ahead and laugh all you northerners, but this really is the Los Angeles equivalent of getting 2 feet of snow dumped on you overnight.   :P

It’s a whopping 39 degrees this morning in Southern California.  I can imagine the kinds of horrific end of the world type stories I’m going to hear from the natives when I get in to work. 

Sure, I know it’s all relative, and people here aren’t used to real cold weather.  I do have to laugh, though, when I hear about how it “could have snowed” at 39 degrees. 

I’ve spent almost 12 years out here now.  That’s longer than I’ve lived anywhere in my life.  By default, then, I should consider myself a Californian.  But I just can’t seem to relinquish my 5 years in Wisconsin.  I’m a Midwesterner, dammit.  I KNOW what cold weather is.  And 39 degrees in late December is a nice balmy day. 

I spoke to my father the other day.  -30 in Minnesota where he lives.  Until we even approach a nice average 0, I’m going to hold tight to my Wisconsinite card and not even think about putting on a hat or a pair of gloves!

Take care all, and bundle up!!  :)

I’m writing this, not by logging into my blog, but from an outside source!  This great news to me as it makes blogging less of a hassle.  Maybe this will get me actually blogging more often now.

So, this is only a test … test test test….

Here’s something to look at while you wait for a real entry.