Finds! - Generic Apple Magsafe

Banner image courtesy of joelsuplido from Flickr.
Call me elitist, but I'm a pretty big fan of Apple. Long story short, I got fed up with poor quality PC products from Compaq, eMachines, Toshiba, and HP. Aside from my old Pentium II IBM Aptiva computer from 1995, my other computers have only lasted me so long. My last PC was an HP pavilion laptop that only managed to last me about a little less than two years; quite disappointing to say the least. I was pretty much done with PCs for the rest of my life and several recommendations later, I decided to get myself a Macbook. Two and a half years later, it's still going on strong and loving every moment of it.

This doesn't mean I devoted my life to loving Apple products. I don't have an iPhone, or AppleTV, or multiple iPods (just one--my refurb 30GB iPod video). I like the build quality of most Apple products, however for some reasons you can't help but notice some serious design flaws with some of their other products, especially the magsafe power adapter.

What do you mean? It's an awesome little box that's portable and has little hooks in which I can wind up the power cord. It also has that mini-magnet connector that ensures that it will disconnect if you put any type of strain on the cord. The connector also has a neat trick using an LED light to indicate when your Macbook is charging/fully-charged--it's so clever.

Okay fair enough. I can say those features are pretty nice. Despite all the praise it gets, there are some catastrophic flaws with the design. I'm not sure if this is still a recurring problem with current magsafe chargers, but for a period of time they had a tendency of overheating, creating potential fire hazards. If you take a look on the Apple store website or other online vendors, you can see numerous notes about people encountering problems with the wires fraying, shorting, overheating, and melting. A class action lawsuit resulted because of the defects; since then Apple has offered replacement power adapters for those damaged ones, provided they show no signs of accidental damage. Although this didn't happen to my old power adapter, I've met people who have indeed encountered this problem. Long story short, it wasn't a pretty sight to see.

Another problem with the power adapter is its unbelievably short and thin connector wire. Riiight, wire durability tends to be a problem for a lot of products these days. In this day and age when nearly everything needs to be charged by a power adapter (either for your laptop, cell phone, bluetooth headpiece, digital cameras, etc), it would be nice to have a sturdy durable wire connection in case there's any strain or tension put on it; it simply needs to meet standards of daily wear under normal use. I for one have taken extremely good care of my adapter, never wrapping it around those damned hooks on the adapter nor have I tangled the cord in any fashion. The end of the cord with the magsafe connector must be one of the thinnest charger cords I have ever seen. It's basically a piece of spaghetti, and I bet if I took a bite into it, it might just tear into two. As a result of two and a half years of normal wear, the wire seemed to fray near the box and I was left with no means of charging my Macbook. It makes me wonder sometimes since the AC cord with the ground connector has a significantly better cord and would prefer that same thick cord for the connector. Sheesh, what was Apple thinking?

Regardless, I had to go find a new power adapter. What $80 Apple? I know a lot of PC users like to say that people are paying the Apple tax when people buy their products; and in this case, they're right on point. There's absolutely no reason that small box is worth $80. It's obviously produced in China (most likely by child labor) for $2, perhaps even less, and sold with a 4000% markup. Being a cheap ass, I went into the wide world of eBay looking for a reliable cheap knockoff (hmm that's an oxymoron if I ever heard one) power adapter. Alas, I found one for roughly $16 + free shipping, a huge difference from $80.

In some of the comparison pictures, it's fairly generic looking. No Apple logo engraved into the adapter, but that's not what I'm buying it for. It did not come with the AC cord, but I tested it with my original AC cord and it worked perfectly. I've been using it for a good four months now with no hiccups at all. I definitely was unsure about buying an unauthentic/generic $16 power adapter to charge my thousand dollar macbook with my life in it, but in the end I was glad I made that purchase.

If you'd like to receive information about the particular eBay seller I bought it from, please leave a comment below.

I'm an Old Fart. Let me Rip...Snow

It's been a long time since I've written anything substantial. Call me lazy, but I'm lacking any type of motivation to write this month. Come to think of it, I've been slowing down the number of posts since the winter started. I guess it must be a seasonal thing. I just want to curl up in a blanket when it's cold outside; not to mention all the snow that came this past winter. It's pretty sad really, since I used to love the snow as kid. Nowadays, it's just a big burden whenever it starts piling up.


If you ever grew up in a region with four seasons or in one with typically colder weather, snow kicked ass. Not only could you engage in some awesome snowball fights, you could make a snow man, go sledding (if there's a nearby hill), lie down and make some snow angels, or if you're ambitious enough, sculpt an igloo (I never got around to making one).

It's still only April, so there could still be a possibility of it snowing again. Everyone or at least I think everyone knows the saying "April showers bring May flowers." Well, in Michigan, April snows bring May woes, the spring April owes, I suppose. When will Spring come? Who the fuck knows? That was a terrible rhyme, but it's that strong Dr. Seuss influence from all of his books I read during my childhood. Living in Michigan, those damned lakes will most likely be affecting the weather as spring rolls around.

Since I've grown up, snow has become more of a burden for me. During college, you weren't really offered any type of snow day, if it snowed five to six inches, you were still expected to make the trek to class. The only time I had a class canceled in college by means of snow accumulation was when the professor wasn't able to make it to class. Even at that time, I still made the cold bitter journey to class only to be infuriated by a paper notice on the classroom door notifying class was canceled. What about an email? Eh, regardless, I was pretty pissed to know I could have been snuggled up in my bed at the same time.

Nowadays I work a temporary job at a freight carrier. Snow is never friendly to them honestly. Snow causes delays upon delays and dangerous roads for truckers going through a given area. As far as I know, Pennsylvania experience record snowfalls this years in terms of accumulation which definitely did not make my job any easier trying to explain to customers why they hadn't received their freight or whatever they may have. To them, regardless of rain, snow, hurricane, tornado, tsunami, or shine, they want their freight--and on time. A heavy case of tunnel-visioned customers makes for a very unpleasant day on my end; taking verbal abuse nearly every minute of the day. This is not to lessen the severity of a typical day since I do get yelled at at least three or four times daily. People just don't understand that it's extremely dangerous for a 53' truck and trailer to be moving through slick unsalted roads and try to power through snowy days. Some shipments are just going to take longer to get to their destination as a result.

Alright this is probably an extreme case of trucker trouble, but it really is risky for truckers to be out in snowy conditions.

Speaking of dangerous conditions, this last winter was the first one I experienced commuting on a daily basis. Honestly, it's scary as hell when snow and freezing rain are involved. Just think about it. It's already scary enough to be traveling down the road trusting everyone in your vicinity is competent enough to stay in his/her lane and to maintain a safe distance away as well as abide traffic lights and signs. Add in some hazardous and snowy conditions and you'll have one hell of a commute.

Boy do I hate the snow. It sure creates more problems than it solves. I guess you can take into account that it is imperative to have balanced seasons, but for me, snow is just mere eye candy every three the four months of the year. Alright...Perhaps I'm being a little bit too cynical. I could technically still have fun during the winter after a snowfall. It's purely the lack of free time that's driving me insane. Snow also isn't particularly that hazardous compared to a hurricane, tsunami, earthquake, or some other natural disaster; it's fluffy and wants to be left alone, but can be pushed and packed away when need be. There's simply no stopping hurricane when it comes around--Katrina you bitch.


So honestly, I felt pretty angry and flustered all about nothing. With anything regarding the weather, there are going to be some good and bad aspects. Some people could say rain sucks equally hard, or some people might not like sunny days. Snow doesn't completely suck; it blows sometimes as it interferes with your daily grind, but whenever I gaze outside my bedroom window after an overnight flurry, the view is quite nice.

Mushi-Shi - Review

Duration: 26 episodes (24 mins each)
Genre: Adventure, Mystery, Drama

Often times I tend to watch anime to shut my brain off and simply be entertained by mindless potty humor and absurd harem scenarios, but every now and then I like to turn to something with a little more substance. Mushi-shi is a fairly recent anime I came across and thoroughly enjoyed. Non-anime watchers tend to make generalizations about how anime is unsophisticated and comprises of mostly shallow and fractured plotlines. In some cases, they would be right, I'm not going to lie about that. Aside, for anyone who tends to make a generalization about anime lacking wide appeal with various audiences, show them a few episodes of Mushi-Shi and they'll start to change their minds.

Story

Mushi are not plants or animals, they are the most basic forms of life in the world. Ultimately, mushi do not have a particular role or purpose in the grand scheme of things other than living. They can exist in various forms and mimic things in the natural world such as plants, fire, disease, clouds, and can cause an assortment of phenomena. No one exactly knows why they still exist; there is still a lot left unknown about different species of mushi.

Mushi-shi are those who research mushi to further understand their purpose in the world as a whole. Ginko is a traveling mushi-shi on a journey going wherever the next rumor about a mushi occurrence takes him. Throughout his travels, his role as a mushi-shi can be best described as a medicine-man, doctor, biologist, anthropologist, geologist--he's very multi-faceted to say the least.

Arranged like East Asian folktales, each episode is completely independent of the others. Each episode covers a different species of mushi which has caused problems for ones who have encountered and/or interacted with them. As the story unfolds, Ginko conveniently shows up to unravel the mystery behind that particular mushi, for better or worse. A simple formula, but it delivers on complex and powerful metaphorical messages to the audience.

Character(s)

Since each episode is unique in and of itself, Ginko is the only recurring character in the series. He is not a particularly dynamic character, but he exudes coolness; always with a cigarette in his mouth staring off into the distance in a contemplative state. Considering his profession as a mushi-shi, he must be knowledgeable about the nature of plants, animals, humans, and mushi alike. Almost always calm, composed, and logical; he is unparalleled to the people he encounters. Highly regarded and respected, one could evaluate him as a god-like character. Though not explained, his attire comprises of contemporary clothing which would hold him to be above or at least distinguishably different from everyone else who is dressed more old-fashioned.

In regards to the supporting characters, every episode's unique character is very plain for the most part. With most of them living a rustic and pastoral lifestyle, their lack of understanding about other worldly things such as mushi make it easy for one to sympathize with each respective situation. When progressing through the series, you'll start to notice each young boy, or young woman to look exactly the same; there isn't too much variance--only their stories will set them apart.

Voice Acting/Sound

Yuto Nakano, the Japanese voice actor for Ginko, does an amazing job with the lead character. His voice is calm, collected, and nonintrusive, but solemn and powerful at the same time. I honestly feel he was perfect for the role of Ginko.

The same goes for the soundtrack of the series. The series' opening theme by Ally Kerr, The Sore Feet Song sets the perfect tone for the show. Other tracks from the series comprise mostly of the chill and ambient variety. Unique to this series is an individual tune played at the end of each episode which provides a strong lasting impression of the events which occurred earlier; I was often left in a pensive mood afterwards.

Loved
Beautiful Environments: I'm a big fan of landscape art, and ArtLand did an impeccable job with the background landscapes. Mountains, trees, valleys, snow, and other environments are simply breathtaking to say the least. While the numerous characters in each episode look fairly standard and almost identical to one another, the scenery is nothing to sniff at--wonderful.

Universal Appeal: With most anime nowadays, it's very easy for audiences to get lost within the complex plot, unrecognizable jargon, or numerous pop culture references. As stated above, the plot in Mushi-shi is simple enough for anyone to watch, but has an underlying deep message for those looking for one. Each episode always leaves a hint of open-endedness/mystery for the audience, and can be interpreted in many different ways; it keeps one thinking about what would happen afterwards.


Hated
Repetitiveness: With a large platter of anime still to watch, I have a tendency to marathon through these series. With Mushi-Shi, one should take it slow and watch maybe one or two episodes per day. Each episode will comprise a section where Ginko will be explaining the facets of a particular Mushi; and it will get repetitive and tiresome for watchers to take in all that information and process it. Maybe, it's just me, but a fair warning.

The Lowdown: If you're looking for a fairly simple, yet thought provoking anime, Mushi-Shi is right up your alley. Artistic beatniks looking to be hip and cool can also give it a shot. Not all episodes were created equally, with some more engrossing than others, but with all respect, it's an excellent anime--highly recommended.

Notes: Watched all 26 episodes from beginning to end (niizk fansub).