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Not much progress on the laptop. It's doing the hal.dll thing just about every time I boot up. Again. I think I'll have to contact Dell Support, see what they have to say. I do still have a service contract. But I've been underwhelmed by them in the past, to say the least. At least two of my support requests (out of about four) ended up turning into epic battles (one to get a defective hard drive replaced, the other to fill an IOU after they'd lost the paperwork). And those were before support got outsourced. I think I'll wait until my sleep schedule comes around to the daytime before I call.
Did get to spend some time with friends this past Friday, which was awesome. Saw 9 to 5, and that was a lot of fun. Way better than the movie. Broadway has impressed me lately in that regard. I've seen several shows that were adaptations from other media, and they all managed to improve on the source material.
Speaking of which... my sibs, for my birthday, decided to take me out to a show. My choice. Just the 3 of us (with bros-in-law watching the kids for the evening). I think right now I'm leaning towards The 39 Steps, but I think I need to sift through more reviews and stuff first. We'll also need to find a workable date. But looking forward to that, whenever it happens.
In other bday-related news, I want to show you this:
Looks kinda cool, doesn't it?
(Pics should have alt text, btw, for those who can't see them. Let me know if there are any problems.)
But I'll lay odds it's not what you think it is.
See, the Kindle 2 doesn't come with a cover (and, for the record, neither does the Kindle DX). There are a number of options on Amazon, but I wasn't too happy with any of them. The official cover uses metal clasps, and there have been a number of reports of them cracking the plastic. Not exactly desirable in a protective cover. This one from Belkin does better in that department, but it's more of a slipcover than anything. You have to unzip it and pull the Kindle out. I looked through several other options, including one from Cole Haan that actually costs $100. I looked through everything that was available at the time (now, looking again, I see this one, which would have been just about ideal), and didn't find anything I liked.
I mentioned that to a friend on AIM, who started looking at other sites - something that hadn't even occurred to me. I mean, Kindle is an Amazon product. You can't get them anywhere else. So why look for a cover anywhere else? But she found a number of options. So I looked around and found myself perusing Etsy, a nifty little site I'd bumped into a few times in the past. It specializes in handmade craft items. Individual artists making nifty things and then putting them up for sale. (Some take custom orders, too.)
And that's where I found mine. It's unique. The artist made several others, but each has its own style and cover image. This one is just beautiful. Handmade. Durable. Protective. And it holds on with elastic.
Which isn't to say that it doesn't have its drawbacks. I'm not fond of the leopard print. It's also rather thick. And, while it leaves the ports and buttons accessible, it leaves the sides vulnerable to water damage. There's also (despite the thickness) no place to put the USB/power cord. (All of which are addressed by the new CaseCrown offering linked above...)
Still, I'm very happy with it, and I just had to share.
More pics, if you want, are available on Flickr.
In other Kindle news, I've made the happy discovery that Project Gutenberg now has .mobi files, for which the Kindle has native support. I haven't bought a single book off Amazon yet. Instead, I've got books by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Frank Baum, Lewis Carroll, Alexandre Dumas, Jules Verne, H. G. Wells...
I've read some material from all of them before, but I'm looking forward to reading some of what I've missed. And now I've got a huge library of the classics at my fingertips, accessible for free in a matter of minutes. How awesome is that?
Did get to spend some time with friends this past Friday, which was awesome. Saw 9 to 5, and that was a lot of fun. Way better than the movie. Broadway has impressed me lately in that regard. I've seen several shows that were adaptations from other media, and they all managed to improve on the source material.
Speaking of which... my sibs, for my birthday, decided to take me out to a show. My choice. Just the 3 of us (with bros-in-law watching the kids for the evening). I think right now I'm leaning towards The 39 Steps, but I think I need to sift through more reviews and stuff first. We'll also need to find a workable date. But looking forward to that, whenever it happens.
In other bday-related news, I want to show you this:
Looks kinda cool, doesn't it?
(Pics should have alt text, btw, for those who can't see them. Let me know if there are any problems.)
But I'll lay odds it's not what you think it is.
See, the Kindle 2 doesn't come with a cover (and, for the record, neither does the Kindle DX). There are a number of options on Amazon, but I wasn't too happy with any of them. The official cover uses metal clasps, and there have been a number of reports of them cracking the plastic. Not exactly desirable in a protective cover. This one from Belkin does better in that department, but it's more of a slipcover than anything. You have to unzip it and pull the Kindle out. I looked through several other options, including one from Cole Haan that actually costs $100. I looked through everything that was available at the time (now, looking again, I see this one, which would have been just about ideal), and didn't find anything I liked.
I mentioned that to a friend on AIM, who started looking at other sites - something that hadn't even occurred to me. I mean, Kindle is an Amazon product. You can't get them anywhere else. So why look for a cover anywhere else? But she found a number of options. So I looked around and found myself perusing Etsy, a nifty little site I'd bumped into a few times in the past. It specializes in handmade craft items. Individual artists making nifty things and then putting them up for sale. (Some take custom orders, too.)
And that's where I found mine. It's unique. The artist made several others, but each has its own style and cover image. This one is just beautiful. Handmade. Durable. Protective. And it holds on with elastic.
Which isn't to say that it doesn't have its drawbacks. I'm not fond of the leopard print. It's also rather thick. And, while it leaves the ports and buttons accessible, it leaves the sides vulnerable to water damage. There's also (despite the thickness) no place to put the USB/power cord. (All of which are addressed by the new CaseCrown offering linked above...)
Still, I'm very happy with it, and I just had to share.
More pics, if you want, are available on Flickr.
In other Kindle news, I've made the happy discovery that Project Gutenberg now has .mobi files, for which the Kindle has native support. I haven't bought a single book off Amazon yet. Instead, I've got books by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Frank Baum, Lewis Carroll, Alexandre Dumas, Jules Verne, H. G. Wells...
I've read some material from all of them before, but I'm looking forward to reading some of what I've missed. And now I've got a huge library of the classics at my fingertips, accessible for free in a matter of minutes. How awesome is that?
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Also, I feel you on the Dell customer service. I had a couple experiences from hell with them in the past, and don't plan on going back.
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And I enjoyed going to 9 to 5 and hanging out! It was great to see you again. :)
The 39 Steps. Was that the Hitchcock one? I was intrigued by that idea, but I know nothing about it. Let us know what you decide upon! That's a great b-day present!
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I hope you get to have a lovely day with your siblings :)
Hugs ♥
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Project Gutenberg is really awesome. :D I've enjoyed going through some of Frances Hodgson Burnett's stuff before (though one has to be careful--she's actually quite racist--anti-Asian--when one gets down to it, with an unhealthy dose of classism). The other fun thing I've done is look at old teacher books--whether to be used in a classroom or to educate teachers--and compare them to today. That can be a real riot.