MACHIIIIINE!

When I went to Ensinada, Mexico, with Randy in 1989 to visit the orphanage where he'd lived and worked for over 2 years, the kids had a cute expression for anything cool. The word "machine", but pronounced with a long, drawn-out eeeee on the second syllable. Combined with an approving nod of the head, it was the total package of affirmation.

So when my new work computer showed up yesterday, I couldn't help but utter, "machiiiiine!"

Because I do a lot of graphics and multimedia, an off-the-rack desktop doesn't really cut the mustard... in fact, there are very few condiments it will cut. So with the insurance advance to cover my business machine losses in the fire, I bought a new media workstation and started to replace elements of my studio. The main machine is a Dell XPS dualcore (where they put two chips on a single processor). While most computers are getting smaller, this guy is unashamed to be a muscle car. It's as tall as my last tower and about 3" wider, and looks like a chrome version of the old SGI workstations we had at Boss - the ones that started with a key ignition.

Sam's brother Doug came out to the rental house today and set up the network. Many trips to Staples later, the new rig is working, the laptop is wireless, and our Vonage phone is set up. The last thing to do is get the kids' machine working in the next room. I have one of the rescued data DVDs dumping to the hard drive as I finish this post.

Got a box back from RestorX today. An old renfaire shirt, a pair of Sam's dress shoes, and a bunch of fabric remnants. None of it stuff that we really need to keep.

Tomorrow I will head over to Brian Chase's studio to learn a sound app and get some of our tracks in progress. Then I'm taking Kayleigh to a friend's birthday party, then meeting with Ron. Hope to get out this week sometime to see V for Vendetta. Trying to stay focused on "stuff that needs doing" and keeping positive. I'll let you know how that works out.