Earlier in 2008 I picked up a printer. We had one just like it at work and it had functioned really well. Fast, responsive, good quality, etc. The one I got never worked quite right. It had problem after problem. Driver issues, power problems, and it would print insanely slowly. Well, after a complete cock-up of replacing an ink cartridge there is blue (read: cyan) ink every where. So the printer is finally so completely unusable that I had to get a new one.

Enter newegg.com. I love newegg. They sell me things I want at really good prices and get them to me very quickly. As we speak my new printer is whisking it's way across the US to find me. I had looked at the various options for printers and came to the conclusion that toner was only marginally more expensive per purchase than ink, and (I didn't actually do this math) probably cheaper per page. So I found a good color laser printer, and hit the buy button, but not before picking up a cheap video card upgrade as well. My current card has been showing it's age, and I had been waiting to get a job before picking up a new one. At $89 it was a good buy, and I'll probably get a second one to hook up in SLI before too long (at that price? yeah).

While strolling through the interwebs this morning I was alerted to the fact that change.gov has gone live.
From their about page:

Throughout the Presidential Transition Project, this website will be your source for the latest news, events, and announcements so that you can follow the setting up of the Obama Administration. And just as this historic campaign was, from the beginning, about you -- the transition process will offer you opportunities to participate in redefining our government.

I started going through things and found their section on technology. It's obvious that the people behind the wheel have a solid understanding of technology and the role it plays. It's obvious that the policies and decisions being made are not unduly influenced by lobbyist backers or corporate dollars (specific corporations I mean). I encourage people to take a look at this page and try to make sense of it. There is some fantastic stuff here and I'm thrilled just thinking about the intelligence influencing the future of American technology.

Here are some of my favorites:

• Protect the Openness of the Internet
• Open Up Government to its Citizens
• Reform the Patent System
• Protect American Intellectual Property at Home
• Restore Scientific Integrity to the White House

These are core building blocks and it's good to know that the people in charge actually understand them. I feel that whether I agree with the policies or not, the decisions are being made by informed people who are not kowtowing to lobbyists. It's a good time to be a technophile.

Well, it's been about 3 weeks now and I feel like I'm finally getting settled down with my new Mac mini, Gamork. There are quite a few things I like about my Mac mini, and I feel pretty good about the whole setup in general. The only thing I haven't gotten working yet is my printer (shared on a windows machine). Nonetheless my overall satisfaction with the system is very high, and I'm looking forward to adding a MacBook to my family of computers. Read on to hear more about my particular setup.

A friend of mine who I've been helping out a lot in the last couple of months decided that he wanted to get me something to thank me for all my help. A couple of days later and we decided on a Mac mini.

In the next week or so I'll be setting up my Mac desktop. I'm pretty excited.

Well, it's not done yet, but it's come a hell of a long way to get here. I now have my site's engine working pretty much how I was hoping to get it working. Still some things I need to tweak here and there, but for the most part I think I've ironed the really big bugs out. I'm being vague I know, but it's late and I don't feel like posting a whole bunch of details just now. Suffice to say that I think my website should be a little more solid than it's been in the past.