X4X – Home Automation, Part 2

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I’ve been reading more about software for X10 and Macs, and I ran across more information on the xTension software. I’d initially passed on their software after a brief test, when I saw it start up the Mac Classic environment – that seemed like such a step backwards with the beauty of the Mac OS X built on Unix. But yesterday I got a copy of the beta they are calling X4X (xtension for OS X), and I installed it on my Mac, and – its very fine!

I created the master list for the 9 X10 controls that are running in the house, then I created some events for sunset and sunrise (Wakeup Coffeemaker, etc), and after some more reading, I’ve started creating Applescripts for some of the events that I want to happen. Very nice stuff – amazing that its considered beta!

There is a support list and quite a bit of resources for the xtension users – unless something unexpected and crazy happens, I think this is what I’ll be running the house on.

I’ll write more when I have it more experience with it!

More on my new Mac

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small image of a PowerMac G4
Last time I wrote about computers here, I mentioned that I was planning to get a Mac. Well, I found a good price for a dual processor 1.25gHz G4 with 512Meg of ram and a Superdrive (DVD recorder), so I pulled out my VISA card and bought it. I was even able to get Applecare (3 year extended warrantee) on it (for the usual fee).

It was running an older version of OS X, 10.2 Jaguar, so within a week I went to the local Applestore in Tyson’s Corner (partly to check the store out), and I left with a new copy of OS X 10.3 (Jaguar). A week later I got a copy of iLife 04, to get the improved iPhoto, and to have a copy of Garage Band to play with.

My initial impression is that its a very cool computer. When I install software, it
requires that I “authorize it” by entering my UserID and system password. I bet Microsoft systems would be a lot more secure if they used such a feature.

So far the only time it has restarted (booted) is when I turn it off, or when it has installed a major change in software (security updates, etc).

Most of the setup was painless – I took an ethernet cable and tied it to our router (does NAT and Firewall duties for our network from the cable modem)
and a few moments later I was on the internet. It seems Emma’s Win98 machine and can read the Shares there just fine, but it can’t get into my old Win2k machine. Of course, I’ve had that problem before – trying to share files from the Win2k system to Emma’s PC – so thats not new., just annoying.
All my old emails are in Outlook 2000, in a 210 Meg .pst file – I haven’t found a way to move them to the Mac yet, but I did get the Mac Mail program working with my ISPs and aliases.

I bought a copy of Photoshop 7 for Mac on eBay, I have no desire to pay $600+ for Photoshop CS, and I use version 7 at work, and had it on my PC as well, so the learning curve should be small. I got a copy of PageSpinner, a basic HTML editor for the Mac, based on comments in Jeffrey Zeldman’s blog
$30 seemed reasonable for a web editor – $180 for BBedit doesn’t. And I’ve heard bad stories about DreamWeaver on OS X

I’m still sorting out FTP on the Mac – I’ve tried Fetch and Transmit and neither seems at all intuitive – guess I was spoiled by WS-FTP …

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Petition to Save our Constitution

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Please – take a stand against the bullying by President bush _
add your name to a petition to state:

“We, the undersigned, strongly oppose the adoption of an amendment
to the Constitution that would require discrimination against any
specific group of Americans. The Federal Marriage Amendment is a
betrayal of the American principles of equality and fairness. We oppose
the Federal Marriage Amendment.”

Add your name!

Another fine post courtesy of Bill and Kent’s weblog!

Another year passes ..

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Well – my coworkers, the “Gal-Gang” aka, the usual suspects, tarted up my cube last night, in memory of me hitting the big 50. 50? Who’d a thunk it?
I’d kind of hoped to slip right by it – but they knew it was a big deal, so when I walked in this morning, I found a serious lack of subtlety …
(Continue to see pictures) …

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3000 couples in a week!

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In a column dated Thurs Feb 19, Holly Mullen, Salt Lake Tribune Columnist says:

The numbers are dizzying. In the week since San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom defied California law by allowing same-sex marriages in his city, more than 2,700 gay and lesbian couples have lined up at City Hall to recite their vows.

Should Newsom’s act of civil disobedience withstand two hurried legal challenges by anti-gay marriage groups, the number of couples vowing to be “spouses for life” should exceed 3,000 by Friday.

Even if a California judge slams a hammer down on Newsom, as in issuing a “cease and desist” order against any more weddings, a big, clear picture is emerging from this kind of mobilization: The same-sex marriage movement is rolling. It will not be stopped.

Read more at:
http://www.sltrib.com/2004/Feb/02192004/utah/140290.asp

Fair Treatment, Marriage, and more …

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Again, thanks to Bill and Kent’s Weblog! for the alerts!

If you are a Virginia Resident, please call your representative and let them know your feelings on these proposed laws. If we stand up together, we CAN stop them. If you want Gay Marriage, you need to work for it. You can go to the form here, enter your address and zip and find out who and how to contact them. A phone call works great! (Be polite and professional!)
(Link Expired)

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… about those Marriage passages in the bible

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Found at
GullyVuhr’s Live Journal

Since the graphics are somewhat large, I’ve put them behind the “more” cut …

"
Since the gov’t has decided to take such a strong stance against gays because the bible says too, I have secretly located a list of future amendments that we should be planning to see, since that all-knowing book-of-books is such a cornucopia of knowledge as it pertains to the holy union that is marriage.
"

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Marriage – spreading like wildfire!

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Thanks again to Bill of Bill and Kent’s weblog for the link to this story …
S.F. defies law, marries gays – it seems 90 gay and lesbian couples wed Thursday in San Francisco.

Of course, the clueless lawmakers in our State of Virginia are trying to shut the gate to keep out any smoke …

From the Washington Post Feb 13
RICHMOND, Feb. 12 — The Virginia House of Delegates gave preliminary approval Thursday to legislation that would ban the recognition of same-sex civil unions and domestic partnerships, mirroring efforts by states across the nation to prevent gays from enjoying the same rights as married couples.

Virginia is one of 38 states that already ban the recognition of same-sex marriages. The bill would add to Virginia’s “Affirmation of Marriage Act” a ban against recognition of same-sex civil unions or partnership arrangements allowed in Vermont and California.

With all the other things the legislature could be working on, like the school system, employment, the economy, air pollution, you name it, going after Gay Marriage and civil unions is simply a distraction … much like a magician’ banter keeps you from seeing the extra card slipped into the deck at a critical point.

Could it be that after all the uproar over President Bush’s war on Saddam Hussein, the lack of WMD, and continued plumet of Bush credibility, that a wedge issue like Gay marriage is just another way of avoiding the real issues that face America?

Is Gay Marriage the Willie Horton of 2004?

iTunes

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Emma’s been in Richmond visiting her mom this weekend, and while she’s gone, I’ve been backing up all the files on my PC, preparing to move everything to the Mac G4 coming tomorrow (Feb 9).

While I was going through the partitions, I found some old MP3 files from Sigur Ros and a few other artists. In the past I’d always used WinAmp – avoiding the DRM issues of the MS Media Player 9 (which I refuse to install!). On a whim, I downloaded the Windows version of iTunes to see what the fuss was all about.
It’s pretty neat – has some nice sort options, and has a place to stick the cover art when you load albums into it.

Its got a Visualization feature – but it doesn’t seem as well done as the visual plugins for WinAmp – it doesn’t seem to be modulated by the music as much as
the winAmp modules. I did find a site with info for adjusting the visuals –
http://doors.stanford.edu/~sr/itunes/.