Psst! Can you keep a secret?

Blueberry Union-(16x10).jpg
Originally uploaded by macfixer.

I've been looking for these for years: those great wallpapers (whoops! I mean Desktop Pictures) that used to come bundled on Apple's Mac OS CDs -- if you knew where to look. Mac OS X has cool Desktop Pictures, but not the depth or breadth of the earlier collections. Flickr and Google Images searches usually came up empty.

Until now.

I discovered a stash at work of old Mac CDs. We're talking a mother-lode of them. I was even able to convert some really old desktop patterns to modern gif format.

As long as I don't get stymied by The Man, you can find them here at my Flickr group.

Enjoy!

Are you ready for some turkey?

I am totally ready for some turkey and just the right amount of family (too little time spent with my family, and I feel guilty for not staying longer; too much time and I start looking at the clock wondering when we can leave). I am ready for some mashed potatoes, some gravy, some wicked good sandwiches the next day.

However, what I am not in the mood for is the holiday shopping. Here in Connecticut, we're already getting carpet-bombed by the ads touting the shop-til-you-drop specials that start at an ungodly hour the day after Thanksgiving. The only time I had to drag my sorry ass out to a store for one of these specials was when I used to have to work at one of these specials.

Working aside, my family has never taken part in one of these events, although I believe we're in the minority. Does anyone out there skip over "Black Friday" either?

Rumsfeld resignation summarized in Mac OSX screenshot

Via BoingBoing:


Awesome.

Smitten By Kitten

Smitten By Kitten
Originally uploaded by macfixer.

Sonia heard the pleating cry of a stranded kitten outside. We're baby-sitting this one until tomorrow, when he'll be picked up and adopted by someone loving and deserving. He's named Philly, since he likes the cream cheese so much.

Update: Philly has left the building! He was picked up by the local no-kill adoption agency.

known/unknown

"As we know, there are known knowns. There are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns. That is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns, The ones we don’t know we don’t know." - Donald Rumsfeld

Wow, Rumsfeld is really gone. Didn't see that coming!

Mean squirrel attacks Pa. letter carrier

I tell ya, those squirrels are shifty. Can't trust 'em.

From Yahoo! News:Mean squirrel attacks Pa. letter carrier:

Wed Nov 1, 5:12 PM ET

Letter carriers occasionally have to deal with angry dogs or maybe even a spider's nest in a mailbox, but a mean squirrel? Barb Dougherty, a 30-year Postal Service employee, said she was attacked and bitten Monday by a squirrel while delivering mail in Oil City, about 75 miles north of Pittsburgh.

"It was a freak thing. It was traumatic," Dougherty told The Derrick in Oil City. "I saw it there on the porch, put the mail in the box and turned to walk away and it jumped on me."

The animal ran up her leg and onto her back, she said.

"I eventually got a hold of the tail and pulled it off me," Dougherty said. "No one was home at the house where I was delivering the mail, but the neighbor lady heard me screaming and came over."

An ambulance took Dougherty to the hospital, where she was treated for cuts and scratches. The squirrel was killed with a BB gun and sent to a lab to be tested for rabies. Dougherty was given the first series of rabies shots as a precaution.

Postal officials said the attack is extraordinary.

"In about 230 years of postal history, I bet it is not the first, but I've personally never heard of another squirrel biting," said Steve Kochersperger, spokesman for the Erie district.

Squirrels do not frequently bite people, said Regis Senko, who works for the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

Steve Jolley, a Postal Service manager in Oil City, said, "We are not issuing a squirrel alert, but everyone is aware of the incident."

Define "A Form Of Payment"

Define "A Form Of Payment"
Originally uploaded by macfixer.

Does this mean that, instead of cash or credit, I could pay with a chicken or goat? Just curious.