Until further notice ... use telepathy

My footsteps, Toco
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Dear All,

I will be taking a break from technology for an indefinite period of time. Satya, my laptop, is currently being diagnosed (an unexpected ailment). Thankfully her hard drive is intact but the exact nature of the problem is not yet clear. Please send her good vibes as the experts examine and work on her.

In her absence I don't think I will be going to internet cafes, etc. to update my blog, check e-mail, etc. I've already told my clients and my friends who e-mail me regularly that if they need me they should call me or use telepathy.

With my home phone also not working and TSTT nowhere in sight, my only form of man-made communication is the cellular phone. And even that ... lately some people are calling and not getting through - and when they leave voice mail messages, I am getting them a day or two later, if at all. So, unless you are telepathic, reaching me may not be as easy as it usually is.

I see this as the Universe's way of telling me to not depend on man-made forms of communication for now and to use the time to tune in more deeply and regularly to communication with my Self and the Divine. This must all be a part of the Universe's 2008 plan to get me to trust it more.

While I enjoy blogging daily and will miss it, being without technology can be freeing and enlightening. It is interesting to note what we focus on, return to and rediscover when we go 'back to nature'.

Not sure exactly when I will be back but I will be.

Take care and enjoy your experiences.

Elspeth

Now you see them, now you don't

Strangely enough this was the only image left. I'm not sure why ...

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Yesterday I got into a spring cleaning mood and accidentally deleted allllllllllllllllllllllllllll of my photos that were stored in iPhoto on my laptop. All of the photos I had taken since getting Satya earlier this year. All of my pre, during and post Toronto photos.

As I emptied the Trash, innocently thinking I was creating space by deleting a few images, I saw a little message pop up saying that I was deleting 2,000 and something objects. That was when I realised something was wrong ... but it was too late. I heard the little 'crrrunch' noise that accompanies deleted files ... then I went to iPhoto and saw absolutely nothing.

I went on the Mac site, I called a technician here, I e-mailed two friends who are more technological than I am and who also have Macbooks and I e-mailed a Mac expert. There is software called 'Filesalvage', but it must be purchased and I didn't get the feeling from anyone I knew or from reviews that it was so great an option. The long and short of it is that those photos are g-o-n-e.

I was not traumatised. I simply realised that:
(a) I need to back up
(b) I need to be less impulsive when cleaning out and emptying Trash
(c) Even though the photos had been deleted, they are not the real thing. The memories are still in me and I can always create new ones.

Soundtrack of Boredom (audio)

On my 2nd day back in TT (yesterday) ... I was feeling 'bored'. As a friend of mine once asked: "What is boredom?" Another friend described it last night as a state of angst. For me it is a state of restlessness and impatience ... for some reason not feeling the 'right fit' of myself in the place or moment. I couldn't think of anything to do or anywhere to go that would satisfy me. So ... to entertain myself, I played Dandelion and recorded the rhythm using Garage Band on Satya. Added some simple synth sounds. Called my friend Nicola to see what she was up to. Had to use my cellular phone, as my land phone is dead. Nic was also 'bored'. We kept calling each other back and forth in frustration, trying to come up with ideas for things to do. In my idleness I recorded my end of one of our conversations. The cellular connection was bad. She kept breaking up.

Listen here
for the resulting soundtrack: "Conversation".
(At the beginning you can hear the birds outside, having a conversation of their own).

An idle moment

The result of an idle moment yesterday morning, playing around with the different functions on Satya's built-in video & sound programmes.
Press play to view.


Credits:
Voice: recorded through Garage Band using built in laptop mike and Garage Band effects
Video: recorded using iSight camera built into laptop
Jellybeans: courtesy a late night trip to Dominions to satisfy snack cravings

Red Apple

Today Satya looks hot and sexy in her new translucent red 'Speck' Spirited Case, which will protect her. Since my nickname is Spec (minus the 'k'), this is quite fitting.

Wireless Wonderland

It has now been about a month since my phone has been dead and my DSL connection incapacitated. I gave up after almost 3 weeks of calling TSTT at least twice daily (and receiving a melange of reasons for my phone being dead), speaking to and writing letters to managers and supervisors, going physically into TSTT Service Centres to make my reports face to face, having friends with 'inside links' following up and doing what they could to help.

The days tick on.

Soon I will be out of the country. I won't even waste time or energy thinking about whether my phone will be fixed by the time I return in June. For now I use my cellular phone or other people's landlines to make calls.

And for now I will no longer have to borrow other people's computers for internet access or go to internet cafes. Last night when I got Satya back (from having her software installed), I turned her on and immediately got swift internet access via a wireless feed in the area.

Get your act together, TSTT. I am not inspired by you.

Satya

I love the name Satya for my new laptop. In addition to liking its phoenetic sound and meaning, I love that it is "a term of power due to its purity and meaning and has become the emblem of many peaceful social movements, particularly those centred on social justice, environmentalism and vegetarianism." (Source)

Karishma

Last night, my new laptop spent the night at a friend's house. He is a music producer and he was souping her up with some new software. I will get her back today.

On my way into town yesterday to drop off the laptop and meet a friend for dinner, I was thinking of a worthy name for my new unit. I kept thinking of Satya, which is one of my favourite words.

Later, as my friend and I entered the restaurant, we encountered the husband of an old schoolmate of mine, holding their baby. He told us the baby's name - her middle name being "Karishma" which means "Miracle" in Hindi.

I quite liked the sound and meaning of it ... and during dinner I not only chewed on my food, but chewed on the idea of calling the lappie Karishma. (I guess Mac people will say that anything is a Mac is definitely a karishma in comparison to a PC).

Somehow this seems more like a laptop with an 'S' name. So may go with Satya ... but will swirl Karishma around for a while and see if it fits.

While on the topic of karishma, I think we need a karishma where PM Manning is concerned. I did not know whether to laugh, cry or scream when I saw the blaring headlines in today's Newsday: Latest on PM's $148M House: ROAD THROUGH BOTANIC GARDENS

First post from my Mac

Hooray! This is my first post using my sparkling new Mac laptop. It's the first laptop I've ever owned as well as the first Mac I've ever owned. I used to use Macs when working in advertising (in the office), but other than that, it's been PC.

So far ... the Mac (yet to be named) was quick and easy to set up. I'll need to explore ... and I'm sure I will have questions as I adjust to the newness.

I was unpacking it at a friend's house and we were oohing and aahing at every stage. Even the packaging is exciting and well designed.

Exciting! Cute, clean,sleek, lightweight!

I can't see myself becoming one of the smug Mac people though ... and I will still use and appreciate Firefly (my PC) for certain things.

The only thing that has me puzzled is the Blogger interface which now is not showing many of the things that it shows on a PC. Hmmm ... I will have to investigate. Does anyone reading this happen to use Blogger on a Mac? If yes, do you know what I mean and can you explain how to display all the controls?