At long last, Vista is here. But Tuesday’s San Francisco launch of Microsoft’s new computer operating system, which it hopes will revolutionize the technology world, didn’t pack much punch according to Ryan Blitstein in an article today in the Mercury News. The Redmond, Wash., company spent $6 billion developing Windows Vista, plus billions more on Microsoft Office 2007, which officially launched Tuesday. Microsoft’s Exchange Server 2007, the software for e-mail and calendars, was released last month. …

Says Ryan, “So far consumers don’t seem that excited about Vista, especially compared with the much-hailed release of Windows 95, when thousands of buyers lined up at stores for a midnight release. …”

“Twelve years ago, Microsoft introduced a new operating system, Windows 95, in a frenzied global marketing blitz that was unlike anything the industry had ever seen,” say Jeremy Peters and Thomas Crampton in an article today in the International Herald Tribune’s Tech section. “But Tuesday, shortly after midnight, when Microsoft put its latest Windows successor, Vista, on sale, there was considerably less hoopla.”

“The lights on the Empire State Building were not changed to hues of Microsoft red, yellow and green. The lines at stores were much shorter. In many ways, the change reflects how much Microsoft’s influence in the computer technology marketplace has faded as the fortunes of rivals like Google and Apple have grown. … ”

Good friends Michael and Sisko’s son, Noah,  is a budding photographer. Having recently acquired a Nikon D80 shooter and taken up the hobby, he’s already showing a natural eye for it. I’ve selected a few of his images and posted them for your consideration. I’ll post more as he makes them available. I think you’ll agree he has the makings of a fine photographer. Click here or on the image below to view them all. (11 images)

Good Morning Silicone Valley reports that when Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates appears tonight on “The Daily Show” with Jon Stewart, it won’t be for  “Microsoft Spend Your Entire Day Installing Printer Drivers Day” but to plug Windows Vista an hour before its official midnight launch. Seems Microsoft has found wisdom in the words of former “Nightline” anchor Ted Koppel, who once whined, “A lot of television viewers — more, quite frankly, than I’m comfortable with — get their news from the Comedy Channel on a program called ‘The Daily Show.’”

Quite the PR stunt, no? It will be interesting to see how it plays out. Certainly there’s ample room for hijinks; Stewart’s had his way with Microsoft before, and John Hodgman (Apple’s “I’m a PC” guy) is a correspondent on the show…

In other Windows Vista launch news, The Associated Press reports that NBA star LeBron James is slated to make cameo ads for the product. 

If you’ve been following Bill Gates’ media tour this week (I have, with mild interest) you may have watched him on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart last night and nearly every other outlet in the last 24 hours. Most bizarre for me has been watching him highlight features of Vista and pretend that Microsoft “innovated” them. 

Still on the Vista media blitz, Gates appeared on CNN only to be asked the question of questions: “Were you going after a specific look there, the Mac look?” The following YouTube clip from CNN is entertaining as the host pushes Gates toward admitting his continued inspiration in Cupertino…

As Cult of Mac puts it, “Bill Gates occupies [an] alternative universe where Vista is innovative.” Amusing.

What a system. From the official NFL site:

The demand for tickets to Super Bowl XLI greatly exceeds our ability to accommodate the majority of our fans interested in attending. Most tickets are made available through the two teams competing in the game, and to a lesser extent through each of our other NFL teams. Remaining tickets for the general public are made available through a random drawing. There is no other means for the general public to purchase tickets. The NFL does not sell tickets to travel or ticket agents. Entries for the random drawing are accepted between Feb. 1 and June 1 of the year preceding the game in question. …

Of course, scalpers always manage to get tickets, presumably from the teams based on the forgoing, and I’ve heard they’re going for upwards of $5,000.

Say what? For that much I could buy a whale of a plasma HD TV, have my lovely wife whip up some great snacks, not have to pay $10 a cup for beer, sit in a comfy room with family and friends and get much better coverage of the game! So who pays that kind of dough to sit a mile from the action between a couple of slobs slinging their beer during every play and then have to spend three hours getting back to an overpriced hotel room? I can’t imagine.

I married into a Chicago family so, as much as I like the Colts, I’ll be rooting for Da’ Bears. And I’ll admit I’d love to be in Chicago during and after the game, especially if Da’ Bears win. Chicago is a football town and they love their Bears, so the city will be filled with electric energy and wild parties.

At first glance, it might not seem so obvious but, as you are about to see, anyone who can subtract can uncover the mystery that makes 6174 so special.

In 1949, mathematician D.R. Kaprekar from Devlali, India, devised the process now known as Kaprekar’s Operation. Here’s how it works:

First, choose a four digit number where the digits are not all the same (that is, not 1111, 2222 …). Next, rearrange the digits to get the largest and smallest numbers these digits can make. Finally, subtract the smallest number from the largest to get a new number and repeat the operation for each new number. … continue reading  

The house has a hollow, empty appearance and a slight echo without furniture in the living, family and dining rooms. It was all moved out yesterday in two truckloads; one destined for the consignment store and the other for storage until our repainting and recarpeting is completed. It was a long day and, although I didn’t do much of the heavy lifting, I was beat.

And I was as nervous as a cat the whole time as I watched the movers lug our heavy brass curio cabinets down the stairs from the landing, dismantle our piano and flip it on its side (terrifying!), and dolly our heavy furniture across the uneven walkway and into their truck.

In the midst of movers coming and going, our tile contractor came to measure the entry for new marble; turns out I’ll only need 400sf of 16-inch tiles instead of the 500sf we’d originally estimated. I called the supplier and gave him the revised quantity… and my credit card number (Ouch!)

And the upholstery company that re-covered our dining room chairs delivered the window seat cushion they’d made. It had been a little short when they brought it out the first time so I’d sent it back. This time it seems to fit perfectly. (Sigh of relief!)

The three young guys that will be dismantling our exercise machine came by around 6:30 last night to give me an estimate on the job. They’ll dismantle the machine and move the parts, along with some other exercise equipment, to our storage locker, then return and reassemble it all in the gym after the renovation (Ouch again!) They’ve been somewhat unreliable about keeping appointments and returning phone calls but promised to be here Saturday morning at 8 sharp. (Pending sigh of relief.)

It felt good to be closer to a state of readiness — the demolition is now scheduled to begin Wednesday instead of Monday — but I was exhausted last night and, after a wonderful dinner (bless Dawn’s heart), fell off to sleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

Of course, we’re still not entirely ready for demolition. There’s still a lot of “stuff” to be boxed and hauled to the storage locker and various charities. It’s amazing how much we accumulate and hate to part with even after realizing it no longer fits or we no linger use it. So we’ll be taking this opportunity to purge.

But, as my cousin Mike advised, we’re keeping our eyes on the prize; our “house” is becoming our “home.”

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Shannan sent this. Says she fully appreciates our cat hair dilemma. She has three cats and has finally figured out how they manage to distribute so much hair…

I knew they had a system!

I’m always interested in unique art forms, so when Shannan brought “sandwich art” to my attention, I wasn’t surprised. Someone is always at the ready to make things out of unusual objects. Some will call it art, others will see it more as playing with food. Either way, here are 27 examples; let me know what you think.

I got this today from High Desert Wanderer and, given our soon-to-begin renovation project, thought it worth sharing…

Painting a room in 30 seconds or less

Had a little home improvement mishap today. I was actually cleaning the kitchen when I knocked something over. I’m still not sure what it was, but I do know that it knocked my power drill off the back of the counter into the dining room. That drove the Phillips head screw driver tip right through the side of an aerosol can of red primer. A hiss, a rattle, and a cloud of dust later, and my toolbox is red. The carpet is red. My new end table is red. The walls and part of one kitchen cabinet are red. And my DeWalt drill is red (That’s just wrong, if I’d wanted it red I’d have bought a Milwaukee drill).

Mineral spirits took most of the paint off my end table. The walls and cabinets will have to be primed and repainted. The carpet is shot, but it was scheduled to be replaced anyway. I think my drill is unfortunately red for good.

I learned my lesson though… Never clean the kitchen. 

We’re looking forward to this project with anticipation (and some trepidation…)   

Phil Sidran is a Miami optometrist and fellow kayak paddler with a good eye for photography (pun intended.) I especially appreciate his images because many were taken while paddling near where I grew up — in and around Miami and the Florida Everglades — and are of quite notable quality. And based on your enthusiastic comments, you like them, too! So here’s another group of Phil’s fine bird imagery taken January 13. Click here or on the image below to view them all.

You can view more examples of Phil’s excellent work in the Featured Photographers section of this site. Phil can be contacted directly at psidran@bellsouth.net .

Our long awaited renovation project is scheduled to begin next Monday and we’ve still so much to do in preparation — moving furniture to storage or consignment; bubble-wrapping and packing myriad loose and delicate items; hauling the endless stream of boxed “stuff” to our storage locker — what we’d pictured as a relatively simple task now seems more as though we’re moving across the country.

And in a way, I suppose that’s not so far from the mark, the only difference being we’re planning on living in our home during the renovation. I say “planning” because doing so seemed logical to us — we’re “only” replacing the marble in our entry and having the interior repainted and recarpeted — but the contractor raised his eyebrows when we mentioned our intentions. Something about the smell, the noise, the mess…

We still need to choose carpet and paint colors. They were dependent on the marble tiles we selected which turned out to be an enormously frustrating and time-eating task that I won’t even go into. Suffice it to say that we’ve chosen the marble and can now move forward with complementary colors for paint and carpet.

In that regard, I should mention that Dawn and I live with two cats. Gracie, the tuxedo cat, is what I’d call a comparatively minor shedder. But Georgie, our straight-eared Scottish Fold, sheds so much that we’ve joked about choosing our carpet color to match his shaded silver hair. Not so far fetched an idea, right? But then we remember that Gracie’s hair is mostly black. I guess there’s just no getting out of weekly vacuuming.

A project like this, I’ve learned, is like toppling dominoes. What started out as picking out a few pieces of furniture for the family room evolved into painting, new marble tile in the entry and new carpeting. Everything is “connected” so it’s difficult to replace one thing and not that which is right next to it. So it goes without saying, I suppose, that we’re also replacing the chandeliers and wall sconces. And when it’s all finished and the contractors pack up their tools and equipment (and the smell of paint dissipates) we’ll be taking delivery of new furniture for the living and family rooms and having new window treatments hung…

And that’s when the big empty house will finally become a home. We can hardly wait to “settle in.” So let the countdown begin…