A new toy

A new Asus K42-F showed up on my doorstep a few days ago. I’m still getting used to it, but here are my thoughts so far.

 

I like:

- Windows 7. Lots of unnecessary little things, but overall this OS is worlds better than the Vista install I had used for a few days.

- Pretty darn quick. Running an i3 550m processor with 4GB of memory, Photoshop CS4 64bit has no issues, even when loaded pretty heavily.

- Comes with an OS partition and a storage partition. I usually setup my computers this way anyway, because eventually I’m going to mess up the OS enough to need to reinstall and I don’t like copy all my data when that happens. Another plus of Windows7 is that I can easily change the location of all the ‘Special’ folders that my profile uses to the storage drive, so documents/music/pictures etc. function just fine, but are safe in case of OS implosion.

- LOVE the touchpad so far. Normally these things are the bane of my laptop experience, but this little guy has a multi-touch interface which rocks. Click, scroll (horizontal and vertical) and right click can all be accomplished without using the ‘button’ at the base of the touchpad. It’s also textured, which I dig for no apparent reason.

- Nice and bright screen. Makes things look purdy.

 

I don’t like:

- Windows 7’s lockdown on administrative functions. Constant pop-ups for anything that requires any amount of system access. Easily fixed by activating the Administrator account and using that as your primary account. It’s just a hassle

- The finish on this machine is a magnet for fingerprints. It looks like I gave it to a six year old after they mangled a PB&J sandwich.

- The ridiculous amount of pre-installed software that took me about an hour to uninstall from the machine. From your usual MSOffice trial and Anti-virus trials, to the useless suite of ‘Asus Utilities’, there is enough bloatware on here to choke a horse.

- All the ports are located on the sides of the machine. This is a personal preference, I prefer them on the back. No real biggie.

- Only three USB ports. Realistically not a problem since I only generally have a mouse+flash drive plugged in. Some people might take exception to this though.

Paria Canyon / Lee homestead

More pictures, because I am terribly unoriginal with words of late.

 

The Lee orchard:

 

Wagon:

 

Monument in a creek bed:

 

Courtney, walking along the Paria trail:

 

Pump along the Paria:

 

A look at the canyon walls:

 

Ring my bell:

 

Water makes it all possible:

 

The desert is hard on vehicles:

Wildlife

Just a few animals.

Pic of the day

What used to be a forest is now a graveyard:

From a forest fire on the way to the Grand canyon.

Another view.

A cliff-side trail

The ‘Cliff Springs’ trail on the way to Cape Royal.

 

A lone pine tree sprouts on the trail in the shade:

 

A much more enclosed view of geology than the standard rim trail:

 

And all sorts of colors found in those walls:

 

The end of this short trail- Cliff Spring :

Well worth the stop.

A trip North

Just a quick picture post from a trip up to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon last weekend.

 

Sunrise from the lodge:

 

The North Rim Lodge:

 

A view from employee rock:

 

Point Imperial:

 

And a few panoramics.

Bright Angel Point lookout:

 

My favorite view of the trip, from Cape Royal:

 

Transept Canyon from employee rock:

Pic of the day

Tail Gunner of a B-25

Pic of the day

Gentle Persuasion:

Pic of the day

Tail + Gun from B-17 Flying Fortress

Pop music remix

Apparently some of these are popular songs that one might hear on the radio these days. A moder-day one man band:

(via)

Weekend recap

Highlights from this weekend:

- Brunch at the Iron Springs Cafe

- Took Courtney to the Sharlot Hall Museum

- Went to the Prescott Airport and took some shots of two vintage bombers that came in

- Had my final dance class

- Went out to the bar Saturday night, saw a great band. They played a swing song and magically everybody got off the dance floor. Courtney and I got a chance to show off our East Coast Swing skillz, which was a BLAST.

- Made chicken, sour cream enchiladas for the first time. Then took them to Mom’s house for mother’s day dinner. Good times with her and sis.

 

Definitely a good weekend.

Pic of the day

B-25 bomber at the Prescott Airport:

Indian ruins

Just a picture post from the Wupatki Indian ruins.

 

A look at the big ruins site:

 

And a little closer look at the main building:

 

The Box Canyon/ Lokoki ruins:

 

A raven takes flight from the Citadel Ruin:

 

Where he had been enjoying this beautiful view of a limestone sink:

 

A view of the Wukoki ruin from the trail:

 

Wukoki from the other side:

 

 

All photos found on flickr page.

Pic of the day

We took a trip up to Sunset Crater / Wupatki Ruin on Monday. Here is a tree living in the volcanic cinders near the crater: