God, I love CraigsList.  I found a guy on CL selling a Dell GX270 (Pentium 4HT 2.8Ghz, 512MB RAM, 40GB HD, and other goodies) for a whopping $35.  I didn't have change so he got the whole $40 that came out of the ATM.  Still a screamin' deal. 

I've been experimenting lately with installing OSX on PCs using the guides from the OSX86 Project.  I have a slower Dell (2Ghz P4 - without hyperthreading) PC that I installed OSX on.  However, it ran like crrrap!  I'm really more a PC/Windows guy, but I like using Apple stuff for my music production.  So, I reluctantly installed Windows on the 2Ghz PC, and I was going to start using that.  But now with my latest CL purchase I think I should have a PC that runs OSX well enough to do some tough recording.  Nice!  The real test will be this weekend when I try to load up some old projects to see how well it runs…  if it still craps out on me…  then back to Windows I go. 

I've run Xbench on the Macs I've previously used.  Xbench is a benchmarking system performance rating application.  Basically it tests the computer and gives it a score based on how well it performs.  Here's how they've fared…

Dell Pentium 4 - 2Ghz - 1GB RAM
Score: 21.02

PowerMac G4 - 533Mhz - 768MB RAM
Score: 26.98

Mac Mini G4 - 1.4Ghz - 512MB RAM
Score: 46.51

Dell Pentium 4HT - 2.8Ghz - 1.5GB RAM
Score: 52.82

Mac Mini Intel Core Solo - 1.6Ghz - 1GB RAM
Score: 72.77

So, there ya have it.  The $40 Mac scored higher than the Mac Mini G4 (which was $300), but not as high as my fairly new work computer (which would cost closer to $500 used). 

Howie says I made a good deal.

My co-worker buddy John is on vacation.  He went on some wacky auto Rally called, BABE (Big Apple - Big Easy).  The rules of the BABE rally is that you have to buy a car for under $250, and drive it from New York to New Orleans.  The whole thing is fascinating to me.

Anyway, being the tech geek he his, he put together a GPS tracking page of his voyage.  The BABE rally begins tomorrow (thursday) and runs through the holiday weekend.  He also has a sister team that's on the trek with him called Team BOMB.  They have pictures and a more updated blog… anyway, I've been following their trip for the past few days from Tucson to New York…  now it's on to the Rally itself. 

If I were a car guy, and had enough vacation time to do this… I totally would.  But, I think it's nearly as fun and certainly less stressful to just follow along online. 
Go John!

In may?

This morning when I'm leaving for work, I start up the car, plug in my mp3 player, and the first song that is picked by shuffle mode was Good Times Roll by The Cars.  My first thought was, "oh great… I'm going to work…yeah, let the good times roll".  Then I began to think, "what would make work a much more fun place to be?" Drinking!  If we were allowed to have a couple of beers throughout the day, it would be so much more fun, so much more bearable.  It would certainly take the edge off being couped up at work all day.  Then I thought more about it, and decided there would need to be some kind of drunk test.  No booze for those who get angry, or violent when they've had a few too many - that would be a bummer to have co-workers take a swing at you because they screwed something up.  Only the silly fun drunks would be allowed to drink.  However, there's that whole issue of driving home at the end of the day…  maybe public transport?  It's probably a good thing that I'm not in charge.

I was up in the big ol' Phoenix over the weekend.  My brother was here visiting last week, and his flight flew out of PHX on Saturday.  Tiff and I went to The Breeders show Saturday night (which was incredible!) and spent the night up there.  (I highly recommend following that link and checking out the Record Release Party video).

I've been in the market for a guitar amp to use in The Monitors.  I found a Fender Super 60 on the Phoenix Craig's List for $300.  That's a pretty good deal considering I was entertaining the idea of a new Fender Blues Jr. for $450+.   I left a voicemail for the guy on Saturday afternoon, hoping to hear back before the show so I could go and pick it up.   A couple of hours had passed without hearing from him.  We ended back at the hotel in the afternoon.  I started pursuing the PHX and Tucson Craig's List listings to see what else may be out there.  I found an ad for a Hughes & Kettner Edition Tube - a similar configuration located in Tucson for $350.  Of course I couldn't decide which to go with. I researched both the Fender and the H&K.  I eventually decided to lean toward the Hughes & Kettner because it was newer, and a little more 'upscale'.  Sunday morning I got a call from the PHX guy with the Fender, and I told him that I was already heading back to Tucson, but I might still get his Fender (keeping my options open). 

When we got back home I gave my buddy Kane a call and asked his opinion…  his short answer was that both amps are really great.   The Fender was more like an old, beat up, bad-ass Camaro, and the H&K was more like a Lexus.  I decided to give the H&K guy a call.  He invited me over. I checked out the amp and told him I'd buy it.  His reply was, "So… you're really gonna take it then?" as if he didn't really want to sell it.  I said, "umm yeah, if that's okay, I'd like to get it…"  I was like, "well, if you don't want to sell it, you don't have to…"  and he says, "really?  is that okay? you're not mad?"  I guess he changed his mind earlier in the day but felt obligated to show it to me.  I don't know.  I told him that I was having a tough time deciding between the 2 amps and that he decided for me.  He was relieved, and I found the whole situation humorous. 

Now, I know what you're thinking…  "now you gotta go back to Phoenix to get that other amp".   No, luckily my old dear friend, Alex flew into Phoenix for business.  His plans included coming down to Tucson for a visit tonight.  He already met with the guy and picked up the amp for me, and I would pay him back when he gets here. 

So, after all this…  this amp better be awesome, damnit!