Monthly Archive for November, 2005

Spanks-giving 2005

Published
by
Jared Ferguson
on 11/24/2005
in Holidays and Thanksgiving
. 0 Comments

Corinne and I left town last night at about 5:45 to head for St. George. The drive was unusually long due to the traffic, but tolerable nonetheless. John hitched a ride down with us and the resulting conversation was interesting.

Unfortunately, since Milaena slept for a good portion of the trip (in addition to her afternoon nap) she was a total livewire. It was horrible. She was on fire until about 2:30 this morning, at which time she finally fell asleep. Of course, that wasn’t to last for long and she decided that she’d wake up at about 8:00. It’s now 1:40 and she’s still kickin’, though I know she’ll crash and burn hard a little later.

I talked to my Dad today, he just got back from Germany. His trip was apparently quick and dirty, but he was able to do what needed doing. He did comment on the food however, saying that German food was not all that he expected it to be. He said that the spices were a little strange, but overall the food was just bland. Apparently the idea of a deep-fried turkey didn’t sound much better to him. I wish he and Val were with us this year.

So far, the trip has been nice and relaxing. We have a trip planned to Vegas tomorrow to see friends and family. It’s going to be a nice weekend.

Apple Photo Booth

Published
by
Jared Ferguson
on 11/22/2005
in Apple and Software
. 2 Comments

So, I had some time to burn between classes today. I took my usual waste-a-few-minutes trip to the University Bookstore and messed around with the Macs for a while. I checked out the new 15″ PowerBook (what a nice display) and then moved to the 17″ iMac they had on display. I started goofing around with the new Photo Booth application, so I thought I’d post some of the pics for everyone to see.

I think it’s silly that Apple isn’t releasing this to iSight owners though. I for one, would love to have it available for my PowerBook and iSight.

Apple Store Salt Lake City Opening

Published
by
Jared Ferguson
on 11/19/2005
in Apple
. 0 Comments

I arrived at the Gateway this morning at 7:40. I was 56th in line. Frankly, it wasn’t that important to me to be “first.” At that point, I knew that I’d at get in the store (and my t-shirt) so I was certainly not worried. I met a few folks standing in line including Kevin, who took the picture of me standing in front of the store as well as a few who had been to other Apple Store openings. The time passed quickly with discussions of Apple-related subjects and before we knew it, there was fifteen minutes to go and the store employees were rallying the crowd with “the wave” and various chants (Apple, Apple, Apple). Soon, we were counting down the stores opening. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1….

As we entered, there were lines of Apple employees who where welcoming us to Apple and giving high-fives. Black Eyed Peas were blaring over the store’s PA and people were rushing about looking at the newest Apple wares. Honestly, it was all a bit distracting. However, after a few minutes, everyone calmed down and we were all able to start going about our business.

The store is larger than the Las Vegas store (the only other Apple store I’ve been to). The Studio is located directly at the rear of the store with the Genius Bar located just before it on the right. Software and peripherals flank the Studio on either side. There were PowerBooks galore (display and store units) and more iPods than you could shake a stick at. The checkout counter is located directly at the front of the store. G5s(including the new Quad) lined the outer walls of the store, most with some soft of add-on attached to them. The most interesting thing about the store is the storefront itself. Every other retailer at the Gateway seems to keep within the Gateway’s standard, but Apple seems to have gotten away with a bit more by having their trademark aluminum covering the entire face of the store; it’s quite nice.

After I picked up a new set of headphones for my iPod, I left with my obligitory t-shirt which in itself shows how image-conscious Apple is: it wasn’t enough for them to just send me home with a t-shirt, nay, they actually packaged it in a tidy little Apple box. Amazing. Prices were about what I was expecting (spendy on accessories), but they did have the two things I was looking for in-stock that MacDocs has not had; headphones included. I guess I expected that. As I was leaving the parking lot, I saw that the line had grown considerably. I’m glad I got there early, or I would have been waiting line all day.

All this said, I’m extremely excited to have been there for the opening. It’s nice to finally have an “official” store to visit. I’ve posted pics in the gallery, click on the above image to check them out. Now…if I can just wait for IKEA.

UPDATE: I just saw myself on Fox 13 News. Classic. The local talking head insinuated that “thousands” waited over night. I wish news people would just shut up, or at least get the facts straight.

Three Years

Published
by
Jared Ferguson
on 11/18/2005
in Comment and Positivism
. 2 Comments

I realized today that I’ve been running this blog for over three years now. Some of you may remember that this thing was started as a way for me to keep in touch with my family about our baby on the way since we were living in St. George at the time. Since then, the blog has become much more than that. It’s a place where I can post things of interest and do a little venting. The site has been through three major revisions and I anticipate another theme renovation here soon. The site is now hosted at my old employer, but at first was on a box that I maintained at home. In some ways, I miss having that server sitting next to my desk, but now that I’m down to just two laptops which require little or no maintenance at all, I don’t miss it that much. It’s nice to have someone else taking care of that side of things. Here’s to three more years!

I’m In

Published
by
Jared Ferguson
on 11/18/2005
in Positivism and School
. 2 Comments

I finally received my letter of admission today to the University of Utah’s Social Work program. Good thing, considering how much I put on the line to come down to Salt Lake City to go to school. I sat down the other night and put my schedule together and figured that if I really push it, I can be done by December of next year. Rawk! We’ll have to see what my advisor says, but…I can hope!

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately about the LCSW route, and I’m just not sure that it’s for me. I’ve been considering pursuing an Masters in Public Administration (MPA) because I figure that will give me a lot more options than an LCSW and more earning potential. I’m not going to get too set on any one program though. I plan on keeping my options open by applying to at least three different programs. That way, I’m not horribly disappointed by not getting into the one. Finally though, I’m glad to see that at least all my efforts have not been in vain. It’s not as if I ever really doubted that I’d get in (I carry a 3.71 GPA and had no problems at all in Weber State’s program), but it’s certainly good to finally know that I’m ready go full-force towards my BSW.