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Saturday, December 26, 2009

Road Apples, #53

In The Anti-Gluttony Department - My crusade against not eating like a starved swine continues to go well, with Thursday's weigh-in showing a total loss of about 17 pounds. Now I didn't do all that great yesterday, but as my former Dietitian used to say, "Steve, you can have a holiday, just don't make it a holiweek", which is pretty good advice. On the plus side, my clothes are fitting better and I'm not really all that hungry. I know that the balance of the holidays will be a challenge, what with stuff like cookies laying around, but I'll do my best. As I've told myself time and time again, this isn't about dieting, it's about eating better for the long haul.

In The "Only Microsoft Would Think This Is Okay" Department - It seems that netbooks shipped with the new MS Windows 7 (Starter) operating system don't allow users to change the desktop background. Instead, the desktop has a fixed background that consists of a Microsoft logo. Lest you think I'm making this up, here's the skinny directly from the evil empire itself. Yes, to get the ability to actually change your background, you need to upgrade to a higher version of Win7. Somehow I'm thinking the crew at MS just doesn't see just how bad that one looks. Now as I understand it, there are technical reasons for having a fixed wallpaper on the 7 Starter edition, but why plaster a MS logo? Why not simply have it a single color?

In The Technology Department - I'm writing his on a new Gateway netbook that Santa was kind enough to provide. Making matters even better, it's running Windows XP, so I can actually change my background (which I did, to a lovely 'Dunder Mifflin Paper Company' graphic). I'm still using my Sony Vaio, but its ultimate fate is to be determined, as it's running Windows Vista but is dramatically bogged down with a virus that even Microsoft could not solve via on-line support. My options include buying Windows XP for it or maybe changing the operating system to Linux. It's a great machine with a terrific display, so I will end up using it somehow.

Time Off - My extended holiday vacation continues through next Thursday. Now that I'm mobile again (having had the car repaired for hopefully the last time in the near future) I actually feel a little less stressed and more like actually trying to enjoy myself. Here's to hoping that everyone out there also has a restful, enjoyable holiday.

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