MacWhat?

.

Wyclif wonders why I had nothing to say about Apple’s latest Macworld keynote. It was a non-event for me because nothing was presented that was of value to my life. New iPod? My life doesn’t need a soundtrack running through it all day, especially not at >$249. Anyway, should the mood strike, my handheld already plays MP3s, with a 32MB SD expansion card serving up just enough music for the train ride to work. New Mac Office? I never touch the stuff; OpenOffice and Appleworks have met my needs well enough. New music app? I’m no musician anyway, and what little audio work I do is done in ProTools Free.

I haven’t even upgraded to OS X Panther yet, and I feel little need to do so until this boatload of projects is off the to-do list and my finances improve. For now I’m chugging along with what I have, simplifying as I go, and struggling not to love things of the world.

(More Keynote notes: Wyclif, Daring Fireball, Haughey, MeFi, Slashdot.)

Cinematic Purgatory

.

Chicago to Hong Kong. 15 hour flight.

“Ladies and gentlemen, our next inflight movie will be Pirates of the Carribean.”

Six days later. Hong Kong to San Francisco. 12 hour flight.

“Ladies and gentlemen, our originally scheduled movie, Seabiscuit, is not available. Instead we will be showing Pirates of the Carribean.”

One day later. San Francisco to Washington, DC. 6 hour flight.

“Good afternoon. Today’s inflight movie will be Pirates of the Carribean.”

I think I have the script of the movie almost down pat, matey. But next time United Airlines tries to show me that movie, I will have to assert my right to parlay.

Spirit on Mars

.

Mars rover Spirit has touched down, bounced around, landed right side up, and should now be deflating its airbags. Live updates from mission control here. (Link via /.)

Beagle 2, on the other hand, remains incommunicado. High-tech action and adventure, just 10 light minutes away.

Update: Scientists are really happy about the landing site, and the first low-resolution grayscale photos sent back from the probe’s Navcam are awesome. Wait till the full-resolution Panoramic Camera kicks in: then we’ll be getting even better photos from the red planet, and the Microscopic Imager might just settle the life question once and for all. (Wouldn’t count on it, though. These are geological rovers, not biological labs.)