So I got a notice that Parallels 4.0 is out in the snail mail. If you buy before Nov. 30th you get $10 off.
I spent some time online reading about the upgrade and the feed back seems generally positive, so I bought it.
I had 4 virtual machines under Parallels 3: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Ubuntu Linux and SUSE Linux. I don’t know if it was just me, but I was not able to update any them to version 4. The linux machines would only boot into single user mode and could not load the X windowing system. Vista would not run at all after the conversion. OK so that kind of sucks, but I don’t do anything critical with those machines and will just create new ones from scratch. All data for them is on my Mac OS X visible hard drive.
Windows XP on the other hand I use, and use a lot. It has taken me a great deal of time to get it working just right. The conversion process runs for about 2 hours when I get the message:
Never mind that the link that it tells to go to in the error message has nothing to do with the message I got. I find at the only support is via e-mail (They are telling me 3 business day turn around!) or pay $29.95.
Now being an I.T. kind of guy I have multiple back-ups of my data, both using Time Machine and manual copies of my entire user folder. So I guess that I can co back to version 3.0 or wait until they fix the issues with 4.0. I don’t’ like either option!
Well, I have decided to start from scratch with 4.0. New install of Parallels 4.0 etc. OK, so I have done a full re-install of Windows XP and started the process of installing all my software and I am hitting crashes and freezes. Not a stable product!
Troubleshooting begins:
1) Install Clean XP from CD (Still Beach Ball of Death)
2) Apply SP2, this has required 5 windows reboots so far. (Still Beach Ball of Death)
3) Restart Mac OS X (This appears to have fixed the problem)
I hope that the performance during these trials is not an indication of final performance. One of the primary reasons to do this upgrade for speed. At lease so far this feels much slower that the previous version.
[UPDATE]
Well I had to reinstall all of my virtual machines which was kind of a drag, but all now seems to be working fine. Speed is better and many of the new options I like a great deal. Worth the $39.95 price tag.
We have recently gotten involved with the TV show Lost. It is really a terrific mystery/suspense show.
We have been watching the first 4 seasons digitally, which brings up an interesting point. We have loved watching TV this way: no commercials, 100% show. If this way of viewing takes off how are the producers going to get paid and how will more TV shows get to market?
If they must wait until the show is released to DVD to get their money how can they survive? As more and more people move to DVD viewing, Tivo or Internet downloads the ad stream dries up. I am not willing to spend the 40 buck or more per season to buy shows. Renting works great for consumers, but the producers get stiffed.
Is this something to worry about or am I just fretting for no good reason?
Last Tuesday’s election was a great day, the only negative that I see was the passing of anti-gay initiatives in three states. It is very disappointing that in this day and age we feel the need to discriminate against people in this way.
It really ticks me off when religion is used in this argument. Unless you are living by all of the laws of the Old Testament you have no right to use the Bible to justify your desire to discriminate.
Keith Olbermann gave a really top notch commentary on the subject:
This a pretty quick and easy dish that can be scaled to feed a whole bunch of people. We have made it many times and like it a great deal.
8 small chicken thighs with skin and bone (2 1/2 to 2 3/4 lb total), trimmed of excess fat
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 teaspoons paprika
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, halved lengthwise, then cut lengthwise into1/4-inch-wide strips
8 oz. Baby Bella Mushrooms
1 lb carrots (6 medium), cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons mild honey
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro
To Make
Pat chicken dry. Stir together 1 1/2 teaspoons salt with paprika, cinnamon, and pepper and rub onto chicken. Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown chicken in batches, turning over once, about 10 minutes per batch. Transfer chicken as browned to a plate.
Discard all but 3 tablespoons fat from skillet, then add onion and carrots. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened and beginning to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Add garlic and mushrooms; cook, stirring occasionally, 1 minute.
Return chicken, skin sides up, to skillet, nestling it into vegetables. Stir together water, lemon juice, and honey until blended and add to skillet, then cook over moderately low heat, covered, until chicken is cooked through and carrots are tender, 25 to 30 minutes. If necessary, skim fat from sauce, then add salt to taste. Sprinkle with herbs just before serving. [Read more →]
I have never understood why most radio stations insist on censoring songs at all. I suppose that if they are editing out profanity I don’t have that big of an issue, but when they edit for content I get a bit peeved, especially when there is no rhyme or reason. Two examples both from the local radio station in Hartford CT:
1) “Pictures” by Sheryl Crow and Kid Rock — The word cocaine is always removed from the beginning of the song. I guess that as part of the ridiculous Just-Say -No/D.A.R.E. programs someone thinks that they are protecting kids from drugs. If that is the case, I don’t think they have listened to the song. The male voice is speaking about the hell that his life is, not glamorizing drug use at all. They same folks that remove the word cocaine don’t seem to have a problem with alcohol, since they leave whiskey in. Now from a strictly statistical stand point alcohol is a much bigger problem. This same station will play Eric Clapton’s Cocaine with out any edits. I do don’t understand!!!
2) “Brown Eyed Girl” by Van Morrison — This edit really drives me nuts. They line “Making love in the green grass” becomes “in the green grass”, the lyric no longer makes any sense. I are really trying to pretend that no body is having sex. Come on this is just nuts.
I don’t think that I could have taken any more of the election. I went on for so long!
Being a serious liberal I am pretty excited about Barack Obama. It would have been nice to see him expounding some more progressive ideas surrounding social issues, but still he is a world better than anyone I have been able to vote for for president in a general election in my life. In the past i voted against: Reagan, Reagan, Bush, Bush, Dole, Bush, Bush!! Wow that is depressing. This year I was really excited about this election.
For the last four or five weeks I have been checking a couple of poll site several times a day. It became almost an obsession! I became convinced that we were going to loss to McCain or have the election stolen.
Well watching the returns last night was a great relief. I wish that I could have been at the party in Grant Park in Chicago. Watching Jessie Jackson tear up, made me weepy as well.
My niece got to shake Obama’s hand after he voted. She was a poll worker in the precinct where he voted.
