February 11, 2006 --- The day John switched to a Mac.

For anyone who hasn’t heard, I made the switch to a Mac a few weeks back. Funny, I only have one sentence in and I know that most everyone who knows me is saying, “wha..????” Well, it has been something I have thought about doing for some time. Actually, back in college, I almost switched to one of the original PowerPC Powerbooks. What stopped me though, was the fact that there were too many things I did in Windows and the lack of a good PC emulator for the Mac. When my cousin, Bob picked up an iMac in November, that was when I really started thinking about switching again.

You see, over the past few years, with the birth of Emma and TJ, photo and video editing is becoming more near and dear to my heart, and though I have had some success doing these things on the PC, almost no one would argue that the Mac is the better way to go by far. I wasn’t satisfied with editing videos on the PC. Everything seemed clunky and what I thought should be the easiest things to do, were often the most tedious. Every time I would get frustrated, I wished I had a Mac to work with. It was always a dream that quickly disappeared into the jumbled mess inside my head, until that day in November, when Bob called and said he ordered an iMac. Now, my mind recalled that dream I have had for the past 10 years, only this time, it wasn’t going away.

Over the next couple of months, I spoke to Bob frequently and asked him how he liked the switch. Now, my dream could have been quickly pushed deep back in to my head if Bob’s experience was bad, but it wasn’t. He said that it was the best computing move that he has ever made. He loved it and would never go back. I still had the reservations that I had had back in college though. Things like, how am I going to play games, can I connect a Mac to Active Directory to access shared data on our home network kept popping in to my mind.

Don’t worry about that last sentence, I am not going to get all technical now. You can keep reading.

For another month, I went over things in my head on the subject of switching to a Mac. Finally, I came to the conclusion that I could get a MacMini and run both my PC and Mac simultaneously. That was it. I talked to Melinda about it and I will spare you all the details of the conversation. Suffice it to say that she thought I was crazy, but since I had a birthday coming up, she decided that I could have a Mac for my birthday. Just like that, I was off to CompUSA.

Well, I shall skip the whole purchasing experience in the interest of time, but I reserve the right to tell that story at some point. Anyway, here I am, writing this with my Mac. I have not really edited much video yet, but I have made a few slide shows that I have burned to DVD and sent to my mom. You can also check out TJ’s crawling video. That link is right below this blog entry. Am I happy with my Mac, you ask? To that I answer, yes, extremely happy! It is the best computer I have ever owned. I love the experience so much that I have already talked a coworker into switching. By the way, she loves it too. I will say this though, I still have my PC up and running beside me. I can’t do everything on my Mac just yet, but that day is coming.

Oh yeah, one last thing. My wife did get something out of this whole deal. She is covered for my birthday, Valentines Day and Father’s day. Also, I am not allowed to have any tech things for a while (1 year) and I owe her the next time there is something she wants. You know, the "item to be named later. She has already given me a few hints. Though not getting any new technology for a year will be tough, this was a fair trade.

TJ Has his very own video!

Look! It is what you've all been waiting for, TJ's video.

Click Here For the TJ Video

(Just right-click and select Save Target As....)

Check out this crazy Ebay auction!!!

Don't ever be a cheater, that is all I have to say.
Check it out: Ultimate Mystery box auction!

Track you FedEx, UPS, USPS package routes via Google Maps!

PackageMapper.com is a Google Maps based tool showing your FedEx, UPS, or USPS package routes.

Check it out. A new way to be frustrated about where your package is and why it isn't at your doorstep! Seriously though, I think it is kind of cool. Check it out.

read more digg story

For all you surfers of the net or iPod users...

If you are looking for a new way to keep up on technology or to just read some humorous stories, check out Digg.com. The site ranks news stories by how many Diggs they have. A digg is a view, so the more diggs, the more popular a story is. Some of the topics you can read about on Digg.com are technology, music, movies, gaming, deals and much more.

If you have an iPod, they also do a Podcast called Diggnation. You can check out past episodes at the Diggnation website. If you want to download the Podcast to your iPod, they are listed in the iTunes Podcast directory. For people who have a Video iPod, you can also download the video Podcast of their show.

I would rate the show PG, so parental guidance is recommended.

By the way, for those of you who are fans of the old TechTv and of the Screensavers, the hosts of Diggnation are Kevin Rose and Alex Albrecht. My wife would normally be bored to tears by a show all about technology, but with Kevin and Alex hosting, she laughed until she was in tears. Check it out.

Can't anything go right the first time?

Well, we finally got our new Comcast phone service installed today. It has been exactly 1 month since they first called and offered the service to us. I usually don't jump at phone solicitor's offers, but this one saved us some money and we already had Comcast phone service, so I thought, what the heck.

After about 30 minutes of arguing the finer points of my bill with the saleswoman, she finally agreed that she couldn't save me $40 off my current bill. How could she when I pay almost $30 in taxes? That subject, I will leave for another time. Anyway, after deciding to take the new service, the lady setup a date for my install. It made me angry that I needed to take a day off work so they could give me a new phone modem and start charging me $3 per month for it. "I already have a Comcast modem and don't pay a $3 fee, so why should I have to start? Please explain the value added in this new modem that will justify the $3 per month charge?" Yeah, right, I won't bother repeating their answer to that question. Trust me, it was short and didn't actually answer my question.

Hold on, the Comcast guy is here again...

Back now. Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, so I set up the install date and then December 13 came and went with no installer. I called Comcast to ask why no one showed up and they told me that it was because they had no record that I even ordered the service. Ugh. Well, after some arguing, they finally set up an install date for December 23, today.

Now, the day started out well. The installer showed up early and got the phone going in about 15 minutes. They were really only swapping a modem, so it wasn't too bad. All was well until I tried to call Comcast to set up the online piece of everything. The phone just went dead. I called Comcast back on my cell and waited on hold for 35 minutes before talking to someone. The phone rep said he was going to send the technician back out.

About an hour later, the technician showed up and got the phone working again. It was a clerical error on their end. Oh well, everything was fine now, or so I thought. When I tried to setup the voicemail, the phone just rang busy. I had no caller ID either. Grrrr.....it still wasn't right.

Now, I have taken 2 breaks from writing this and I am back at home, on hold with Comcast tech support. Oh well, if you are looking for a funny story, check out this one on Letterman. Found it while on hold.

I just got off the phone with a nice Comcast woman and I am now all set. Or am I????

A few thoughts for a snowy day...

Okay, so I haven’t written in a while. I know, I know, you see a post here every couple of months that read exactly the same way. So sue me! No, really, don’t sue me. A couple of things on my mind and things I have come across below:

For the parents who have a ton of toys that go unused: www.toyswap.com. You can swap your unwanted toys for toys that your kids want. There is a $1 fee per swap, but that is a small price to pay for getting rid of unused toys and clearing up space.

It’s that time of year again as the first real Winter Death Storm of the year is almost upon us. Actually, we kind of had a Death Storm Jr. last week, but it was pretty tame compared to the 5-13 inches predicted today. Add to the snow, a good base of freezing rain and you just cranked up a real sweet storm! Stay tuned because Michigan weather, as everyone knows, could produce a little rain and then nothing. It is a surprise that rivals a kid opening a present on Christmas morning. I can’t wait!

I have been debating on how to drive traffic back to the MacLachlan Family forums . lately. From this, I have come up with a couple of ideas. First, I thought about a reminiscing forum. You know, a forum that you can tell stories and then discuss them. I know that when everyone gets together and tells stories, we all get a lot of laughs. I have been looking for laughs lately, so please, no holding back on the stories. The funnier, the better. Next, well there is no next. That is all I got. Any ideas are welcomed.

From time to time, I hear rumblings about when I am going to update the MacLachlan Family picture gallery. To those people I say, keep your pants on! I will update it soon. Seriously though, I have a vacation coming next week, so I will update everything then.

To Mandy & Chris – Hey, when is the new MacLachlan Family template going to be ready. I have been losing quite a bit of sleep wondering what you are all coming up with. The public is anxiously awaiting the bright new ideas that are to come from the creative department of the MacLachlan Family.

That’s all…out!

Since everyone has a memory post lately

It is funny how a certain time of year will bring out memories of days long ago. My sister just wrote about a few memories of high school and college. My friend Shane just blogged about being married for 5 years and mentioned that this is not where he thought he’d be 8 years ago. So, in honor of Shane and Mandy, I present to you the following list of my memories. It will be a work in progress, so I may add to it at anytime. Also, please do not hesitate to add your own memory to the comments section. I think it will follow in the format of the email forward that I seem to get twice a year, but I will call it, “You know that you grew up in the Clarkston area if:”

You know where Drayton Plains is.
You bought Coke in a glass bottle at Hallmans.
You refer to the golf course on Maybee road as Spring Lake.
You thought Dugan Fife would make it to the NBA.
You thought Dugan Fife would go to the NFL.
You thought any Fife would play professionally.
You knew who any or all of the following people were:
Brent Cooley
Kovo
Uncle Tom
Rumpy
D.R.P.
Darrin Sliwa
You ever visited the Scripps Rd. Monk House.
Ahhhhhhh.......sir.
You ever hung out a Quik Pik after school.
You remember that manager at Little Caesers. *He is actually still there.
DTE Theatre was Pine Knob and it was the place "Where the Stars Shine All Summer Long."
You ever bowled at Zims. (I actually asked to go there a year ago, forgetting Kohl's is there now.
The only mall around was Summit Place and it was the Pontiac Mall.
You ever saw a movie at Clarkston Cinema.
You ever saw a movie at the Pontiac Mall.
Waterford Cinema only cost $1 and there were only 2 screens.
Brandon and Holly were only good at Cross Country and Soccer....right, some things never change.
The coolest job in town was working for Parks and Rec.
Fun Daze
The Village Grill
LeMeads - Yeah, Stu washed the dishes there.
Red Knapps was Alexanders, yeah, before it was Duggans.
Mr. B's was actually some dive called Sam's Town.
There was no Kroger, no Farmer Jack and definately no Rite-Aid.

These are just a few of the memories I have. Feel free to add any you like.

But I can't write about stuff I didn't see.

OK, so Melinda and I were taking Emma for a Golf Cart ride last night when Melinda tells me that I should blog about the dog that got his head caught under our shed last week. I tell her that I can't do that because I did not even see it happen. She doesn't think that it matters, so I am now writing this entry.

Now, before I go on, you must know a little more about this dog. Last fall, Melinda listened to this dog cry all day. Then, when the kids got home from school, Mat thought that the crying was coming from our back yard. After a few minutes of searching, they found the dog crying in the brush behind our house. Now, this is where I can tell this part of the story first hand. So, I get home and see everyone in the backyard, so I walk out there and find this dog. It looked like he broke loose from wherever he was tied up and now his rope was tangled in the brush. Mat and I untangled the dog and gave him some food and water. I know that everyone reading this knows what is coming next. You guessed it, the kids wanted to keep the dog. Yeah, right, as if we don't have enough animals in our house. One dog and 5 kids was enough. Yeah, yeah, I know. We are definately stopping at 6 kids, a rat, rabbit and a dog. For the record, the rat and rabbit stay in the garage. Anyhoo, long story short, we let the dog go and Melinda followed it back to what we thought was his house and let the dog in because the door was open. Did we take a chance with letting a dog into a strange house? Yes, but the owner later called to confirm that our guess was correct.

Jump forward 1 year and Melinda hears a dog crying again. When the kids and her walk out into the yard, they find an old dog standing next to another dog that has his head stuck under our shed. The dog stuck under the shed is none other than the tangled up runaway from last year. After Melinda and Mat used a 4x4 to prop up the shed just enough to get the dog's head out, they took the dog back home.

When Melinda told me this story, I asked her if she took a picture. Her answer was no. At least if she took a picture, I would have the proof that this actually happened. I do not know if this actually ever happened since I didn't see it. I just need to believe that the hole in front of the shed was because the dog dug it and not Mitchell and Christian looking for gold.

Google Earth

If you haven't done so already, download Google Earth. It is by far the coolest way to look at the planet. You can type in your address and it will zoom right in. They have a nifty function that lets you zoom in and fly through a city. The only downfall is that the buildings are grey. I guess that they don't want terrorists looking at the buildings. Who knows. Anyway, download and install it, you won't be sorry.

Emma's favorite place

I'll give you three guesses and no, it is not the zoo. I'll give you a hint, she is my daughter. You guessed it, Best Buy! She could spend house in the place and never get bored. All you have to do is stop by the DVD section, let her pick out a movie and she is set. Well, she is set until she eyes something else that suits her fancy.

So, we stopped at Best Buy tonight after hitting the O.G. (Olive Garden) and I walked Emma through the DVD section. She chose Weekend at Bernies. Then we strolled over to the cordless phone section. Melinda and I were looking at phones since the kids lost one. We cannot find it anywhere. Anyway, while Melinda and I were selecting a phone. Emma selected a phone also. She tried it out and it seemed to fit well, so she called someone and carried on a conversation the whole rest of the way through the store. When it was time to pay, she hung up and tried to sign the credit card pad. We gave back the phone she was using and went our merry way. Actually, I took Emma on a walk while Melinda finished our transaction. When I loaded the phone bag in the car, I was very surprised to see that Melinda had actually bought Weekend at Bernies! The one thing I always do is give back anything Emma picks up. Melinda actually thought I had put it in the cart to buy it. Oh well, I haven't seen it in a long time.

Work, work and more work

Some say that Chrysler's PC Global project will be done in December. I am not one of those people. We are half way through August and we only have about 5000 out of 40000 PCs migrated and no infrastructure at most sites outside of the Tech Center. That being said, one would think that I would not have to work too long or hard, but one would be thinking wrong.

If anyone wonders why I haven't blogged lately, I would point to my work schedule. I have been working until 6 or 7pm every night. Even when I decide to work from home, I still end up putting in extra time. Please do not take this as complaining as I do like the overtime and I know others work longer and crazier hours, but this wasn't in the job description. What was in the job description was working hard, but no overtime. Oh well, things could be much worse.

Tonight we had another Boston Blvd. wing night. We had 3 flavors in attendance tonight: hot, teryaki, and BBQ. Boy of boy were they good. Not the best that Jayson and I have made, but good. The whole street was in the house, but the Knodels. Maybe they think they are too good for us and our wing nights. They always want to be invited, but maybe that is just so they can turn us down. Their loss I guess. More wings for me. After all was said and done, we had to run a covert operation on McKeachie to dispose of the oil. I won't go into much detail, but lets just say, it included 2 golf carts, 1 3millon lumen light, 1 regular flashlight and 4 brother in laws. Use your imagination and I am sure you won't be too far off.

So, it is 1:26am on Sunday morning and I cannot go to sleep, so that is why you get this entry. Anyway, I am getting tired now, so I will stop rambling on and end this post. Stay tuned as I will post again in another month and a half. Just kidding, we shall try to be more dedicated.

John goes to MIS

I got to drive a NASCAR!!!

Kids...Kids and more Kids!

Well, in case you haven't heard, and that would be a miracle since I think everyone has stopped by, Melinda had the baby on Tuesday and it was a boy! I didn't make that last miracle comment for anyone or everyone, it is just that it feels good to know that everyone is so interestd in my baby boy. It makes me happy to know that others are just as excited to see him as I am. Anyway, back to the boy. His name is John Robert MacLachlan IV, but you all can call him TJ. He was 10lbs. 3.4oz. and 21.5". He had a slight complication on the way out as his shoulders would not pass Melinda's pubic bone. When they finally did, he fratured his clavicle. How sad. I feel bad because I don't like to hold him yet because I feel like I am hurting him. I probably need to get over it because I do have the urge to hold him.

In other, less important news, we had lights installed on our golf cart. Now we can get down the road at night and be able to see. They aren't quite as bright as Billy's lights, but hey, you can't have it all. While the cart was in Midland having lights installed, the office lady took it upon herself to change the back seat from white, to buff (tan) and now, all the seats match. Horray for her, as now Jayson has the only cart on the block with a white seat. Maybe he needs to send it to Midland for lights. I am jealous of his hula girl though. Pictures are coming soon.

In case you doubted my 4-Wheeler's jumping ability

You can do a lot of things with a Bobcat and some dirt.

Check out those wheels

Got a sweet deal on wheels and tires from Motor City Golf Cart.

Golf carts, yeah we got 'em

Around these parts we cruise in style!

Whats been going on

It seems that it is getting harder and harder to post here. There are just so many things going on. It has to slow down sometime, right? Last night, Michellee Bachman came over so that I could help her create a video for the Church to use for Easter Sunday service. Anyone who attends our church this Sunday is in for a real treat. Michellee is a demanding director, but she has some awesome ideas and it looks like the video is going to be great. I really wish that we could have taken care of it sooner though, because every day that I am doing the video, that means that I am not working in the basement. Oh well, it will work out.
Speaking of the basement, it is going pretty well. Friday night, Brian and I finished framing the walls and then Saturday, I started the drywall. Saturday was a long day. I worked about 9 hours and got drywall up on 3 of the walls. Sunday, Billy, Jayson and I worked about 3 hours and we hung the rest of the drywall. We got done in just enough time to get the kids ready to go to Church. Yesterday I worked on the Easter video as I said earlier and then we went to dinner with some friends. When we got home, Melinda and I taped the drywall, just to say that we got something done yesterday. Hopefully, today I will get a chance to start mudding. That will all depend on how fast we finish the Easter video.
Melinda, Emma and I only have 3 more days until we get out of dodge! After another 2 hectic days of meetings at work, I am going to be able to rest my brain for 5 glorious days! I can’t wait. Hopefully the weather will be warm.

Free iPods Sucks...I mean stinks!!!

Ok, so it is my personal goal to drive the customer service people at Freeipods.com nuts! They have denied me my free iPod because I have multiple accounts in 1 household. How lame! I think they are just looking for a reason not to give me a free iPod! I have read many stories like mine, so beware! Do not sign up at Freeipods.com! After they gave away just enough iPods to feel legit, they are now finding any way they can not to give up the goods!

Lake Boston rises!