Soliciting Opinions: PC vs. Mac

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very three years, the school supplies me with a new computer. It is not necessarily the most recent models, and it doesn't include the most recent software. But the machine itself is new, so that constitutes a new computer, I suppose. In any case, I have the option of getting a "standard" replacement, or a "non-standard" replacement. "Non-standard", in this case, means "more expensive."

This time, I have the option of using a Dell Latitude D620 laptop or an Apple Macbook Pro. I kn ow what I can do with the PC Dell as it is similar with the Toshiba I currently own, except the new one will have a 1.66 GHz Intel Core Duo and 1 gig of RAM, instead of the modest 1.5 FHz and 512 MB I currently run. Now, if this Dell came with Vista, it would be a no-brainer. But it runs on Windows XP so there is not too much difference with what I have right now. .

A few years ago, this would have been fine, but I am learning how to manipulate videos these days. The other day, we read a short funny essay by Endo Shusaku called "A Problematic Commercial" and so I found some funny or different Japanese commercials and burned them onto a DVD to show to the class after reading the piece. My students seemed impressed that I could burn a DVD, let alone know the difference between a CD and a DVD.

In any event, when I try to edit videos on my PC, I always seem to run into problems: resolution gets worse, audio synchronization gets messed up, etc. I've been asking around, and I've been told that editing video is not PCs forte. However, Macs don't seem to have this problem, so I was wondering if I should change to the Macbook Pro. The statistics are rather amazing: A 2.16 GHz Intel core 2 Duo, 2 GB RAM and 160 GB harddrive. I would imagine that if I had this power in a PC, I would never have trouble manipulating videos.

But I am unfamiliar with Macs and would like the input from those of you have a Mac, epecially those of you who are familiar with both PC and Macs. What are the major differences? What makes one superior to the other? Any input would be appreciated.

Forcast Snow

Update: Did I call it or what--"it'll snow just enough to make things miserable, but not enough to close the school." Off to class now...

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oday, I had at least three different students tell me that snow was forecast for the DC area. Most people who live north of us usually laugh at the paralysis that overtakes the DC metro area when as little as three inches of snow fall. But please remember, we are not used to it. We don't have the three-feet of snow overnight kind of snow here. I mean, I live in Virginia, and if I recall my high school Anerican history course correctly, Virginia was a member of the confederacy, i.e. The South.

It's supposed to be warm...

But I won't get my hopes up... AGAIN! There will be no paralysis for me. I will go to school. I will hold my regularly scheduled class. I DO NOT expect that coveted snow day. I will not slack off with preparing for class because with my luck, it'll snow just enough to make things miserable, but not enough to close the school. So I hope whoever it is that's in charge of snow realizes that I DO NOT expect enough snow to close the school, because--and this has been proven time and again--whenever I expect it to snow a lot, it never does. So please hear me, Director of Snow up above, I'm telling you that I am now preparing for my 5 PM class tomorrow. I am re-reading the stories I assigned by Akutagawa--The Martyr, Kesa and Morito and The Dragon--and considering good questions in the hopes of arousing a spirited discussion on the lack of an absolute Truth, on the idea that Truth is an individual thing often bolstered by sensory evidence and group mentality--I mean, if enough people believe it, it must be true, right? So, yes, it is nearly 3:30 in the morning and I am preparing, because I DO NOT expect snow to close the school. It has been scientifically proven that when I think it will snow and I slack off, 100% of the time I will be caught unprepared. So please know that I will be prepared for class; maybe not now, maybe not at 6 AM, but soon... or at least in time for class... because I DO NOT expect it to snow enough to cancel class.

I will be prepared, I will be prepared, I will be prepared.

(Please snow, please snow please snow... I'm beggin' ya...)

No Time

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s I get older, time goes by so much faster. I remember back when I was a kid, Christmas felt as it it were seven years from September. It would take another seven to get to summer vacation, then zip summer would go by in a flash and school would start again.

That is no longer the case, of course. While the relatively free time I have over the weekends or during winter break still go by in a flash, the regular days go by just as fast. With work piling up, and deadlines fast approaching, there are never enough hours in a day. Last week was a good example.

Besides the quizzes to grade and classes to prepare for, I went through a short stack of applications for a position we hope to successfully fill for next Fall. Some applications are easy to read. Often a glance at a resume will tell me a lot about a person: where they went to school, how much work experience they have, and most importantly, a well organized picture of the applicant. A good resume will allow me to see his or her strengths and almost guide me through the other material submitted, whch can a times be voluminous, which can be overbearing. A sloppy resume makes it hard to gauge the person, and usually, the sloppines extends to the other submissions. In either case, easy to read or not, it takes time to go through all the information and come to some sort of conclusion.

I also had that chart to make justifying the courses we offer. I get the feeling that the powers that be are trying the figure out which courses are not "absolutely necessary" and and start cutting back. That makes me, a teacher of classical Japanese poetry, very nervous. I ended up making two charts for our Japanese program. I was a bit late for our meeting on Friday, and the Boss let me know that they hadn't started because they were waiting for me. The trains were running late and I called saying I'd be about 5 minutes late, so they should start without me. But no. They were waiting for me because they knew I was the only one to have actually made a chart. None of the other languages had anything prepared. I suppose these very important professors are far busier that me, the lowest guy on the totem pole. From what I gather, they are using my chart as a template and simply filling in the blanks. Now there's an idea...

So anyway, the busy work from last week basically fucked up my schedule. M was laughing, marvelling at the fact that I must be busy since I'm not even watching J-Drama. Omigod! No J-Drama! The earth as just bumped off its axis. Well I saw some drama this weekend, but I haven't caught up as I am still trying to catch up with my work. I wish I had money for a secretary. Anyone wanna be my coolie?

Nice to be remembered

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ife is hectic as usual. It is the midle of the semeser, and I am being bombarded by requests for letters of recommendations, even as I try to find time to grade quizzes, read papers and generally try to do the things college professors do.

This week is particularly bad. The school is trying to figure out a way to cut back the number of courses offered. They are trying to "streamline" the curriculum, but we all know they are trying ways to save money. Less courses, fewer new hires and part-timers. I have to cobble together a chart that will somehow justify the courses we offer. Geez, there are only two of us full time and they are complaining about us? Well, maybe not about us, perse, but I still have to put this thing together... by Friday. Of course, I found out about this last Thursday. Also, we are looking at a new hire for a langauge-teaching-only position. There is a push to get language teachers as they seem to be a money generator. The search is being handled by committee led by the Deans office and the Language Center. All I do is ask, "Did you find any one yet?" Well, there is apparently a pool of candidates now for Japanese and I was just informed yesterday that I am to be a part of the selection committee... and we have to decide who to select... tomorrow! Of course, I was told of the deadline... today! I think I will go out of my mind... but I think I have to wait for spring break to do that....

In any event, I've been pretty busy and that seems to have elicted the following email:

It's been a while since you've updated your xanga... I hope everything has been going well in life and in academics. I stopped in to check and make sure something hadn't gone wrong with my account settings, but it looks like everything's okay on that front.

Well, thank you S, it is nice to be remembered. Seriously.

Now that I think of it, I haven't posted since the beginning of the month. So let's see....

Well we had another bout of snow. I have a directed readings class--and I NEVER do directed readings--but the sole student for this "class" was promptly a no-show when the school called a Snow Day for classes after 5 PM. A class is just a class, I guess, even if it's offered on my own time.

Let's see... oh yeah! For Valentine's, I got M some chocolates, dangling sterling ear rings, and a sterling and onyx bracelet. She likes sterling silver because it has more of a dressy casual look to it than gold. God knows I don't take M to very many fancy shmancy places anyway, and sterling is significantly less expensive than gold, so my wallet can give a sigh of relief. But she has hinted that she wants to eat sushi. Buying gold ear rings might be cheaper....

Snow Days

もう一度布団にもぐる窓の雪 Once more I crawl beneath the comforter. Snow at the window TH 1956

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nfortunately for me, there is not enough snow on the window sill to justify more time in bed, as Dad imagined back in 1956. If there were a few more inches on the ground, a few more clouds threatening to disrupt traffic, then there would be a chance for school to call for a snow day. But that seems unlikely at the moment. The ground outside is white, but I can still distinguish the lines separating the sidewalk from the lawn, a telltale sign that there is barely an inch of snow on the ground.

Born and raised in sunny California, I often wondered what it was like to look forward to snow days as a kid. Would I meet my friends for a snowball fight? Could I make a snowman in my front lawn? During the winter months, the only precipitation we saw was rain. And you cannot do anything with rain.

But it did hail once; I think I was in the 7th grade. Now, the upper stratosphere over LA could reach freezing levels, surprising us occasionally with a smattering of hail that usually melted on contact with any earthly object. But this 7th grade hail was different--at least for a few moments. I was bored, as usual, trying my best to entertain myself by printing words in the margins of my notebook. I printed in a faux-gothic style the word "Fickle Finger of Fate", a phrase I had picked up from Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. I have never been accused of being artistic, but I have always liked texts, not just to read, but to look at. Script, fancy print, even signatures have always caught my attention, and I fancied myself a competent copier of them. At the moment, I was admiring my latest artistic rendering of the "Fickle Finger of Fate" when I heard screams and cackles from the outdoor second floor hallway.

Immediately drawn to a new distraction, I rushed outside and saw pointing to the ground. I pushed my way to the chest-high wall and looked over the ledge and was shocked to see a ground that was completely white.

"It's snowing" was the refrain streaming out of everyone's mouths. But one of the teachers, obviously more knowledgeable about things meteorological, set us straight. "It's hail," she said. "It's probably cold enough for it not to melt right away."

She was very matter of fact in her attempts to quell our excitement, but her words went unnoticed. The ground had turned white, the Earth seemed to have bumped off its axis.

"Its snow," I thought, even though I knew it was hail. I wanted to run downstairs and grab a handful of my first fistful of snow. I wanted taste it. I wanted to make a snow angel. But our teacher herded us back into the classroom, assuring us the "hail" would still be there when school let out in another thirty minutes. But when the school bell rang at 3:20 PM, the hail had turned to rain and the school ground had returned to asphalt black.

* * * * *

It's now 4:44 AM and I can still see the outline of the sidewalk outside. It has stopped snowing and the likelihood of a snow day seems as remote as ever. I wish it would have snowed a bit more so I could enact what my Dad composed some fifty years ago. But as I peak through the blinds of my second floor bedroom window, I remember the feeling that my first "snow" aroused. I find it pleasant and perhaps a bit reassuring that now, having grown up to be a teacher, I can still find the prospects of snow exciting.