“No problems so far,” written 3/26/2010

Pros:
Easy to setup, High capacity, Easy to use
Best uses:
Backup, Additional storage
Describe yourself:
Casual user
Primary use:
Personal

I know starting my review with the headline “no problems so far” doesn’t convey much confidence. But before I bought the d2 Quadra, I did a lot of research into an external hard drive for my ancient PowerBook, and it seemed like for every review I found praising a hard drive, another was posted in which the consumer complained the drive failed out of the box.

In the end I went with the d2 Quadra primarily because I felt it was the best VALUE. I thought the Western Digital and Seagate external hard drives were more aesthetically pleasing. But I didn’t like the idea of having to use the WD software (necessary, I believe, if one wants to take advantage of the drive’s energy saver option). And I didn’t like that the Seagate drive had only one orientation, according to a reviewer who wrote that the drive’s base doesn’t allow it to fully rest on its side.

The d2 Quadra was several dollars cheaper than the WD and Seagate drives I looked at. I consider LaCie a pretty reliable brand. I have another external LaCie drive, a small, portable model that’s a few years old now that I still use . And I liked the d2 Quadra’s PORTABILITY, or FUNCTIONALITY, with its four interface options (eSATA, FireWire 800, FireWire 400, USB 2.0). I expect this hard drive will be around when my computer meets its demise, so COMPATIBILITY with future computers I might get was a must.

The d2 Quadra is UGLY, however. The weight and noise, which other reviewers have mentioned, haven’t bothered me, however. I keep it upright and plugged in on my desk. I was easily able to create three partitions on it. Every few days I turn on the d2 Quadra, connect my laptop via FireWire 400, and do a Time Machine backup as well as a Clone update with SuperDuper!

Which reminds me of another great feature of this hard drive: its SIZE. I can’t comment on how much of the advertised space is actually accessible to me because I’m nowhere near reaching the limit. With 1 TB at my disposal, I don’t have to worry about running out of disk space.

Woman Tells of Congo Murders (RealAudio file)

Fifty people from this woman’s village were captured by the Interahamwe, armed Hutu militia from Rwanda who were involved in the genocide in that country. The woman was the only survivor of that attack.

Excerpt from interview:

After they killed the members of my family, 19 members of the Interahamwe raped me. And then they killed two of my children in front of me. And then they took the baby off my back, and they tied a rope around its neck, and they forced me to pull the rope and kill my own baby.

Also check out the BBC news article “DR Congo’s Unending War” for some background on the situation there.

According to a Wikipedia entry,

“Peanut Butter Jelly Time” is a Flash animation that emerged in the early 2000s and became an Internet phenomenon. Based on a song of the same name recorded by the Buckwheat Boyz, the best known version of the animation (usually distributed as a Flash clip) shows a pixelated dancing banana moving back and forth to the song’s repetitive chorus.

The dance that the male Tauren from World of Warcraft does is basically the peanut butter jelly time dance. But without the maracas.

“Where the Hell WAS Matt?” The original video, made in 2003-04.

Matt Harding really started a phenomenon with his video, which depicts him doing the same silly dance in various locations around the world (Mongolia! Summit of Kilimanjaro! Siberia!) with Deep Forest’s “Sweet Lullaby Dancing Remix” playing in the background.

In tribute to Matt, several people have created videos set in Azeroth, the Warcraft world, using characters from the game. By the way, you’ll appreciate the following videos more if you watch “Where the Hell WAS Matt?” first.

There’s “Where the Hell Is Rudinio” by Rudysin. Great transitions and his human character Rudinio’s dance moves are well timed to the music, the same music as in Matt’s video. What’s hilarious is the fact that other players occasionally wander across the screen. At one point, another player even jumps over Rudinio while he’s dancing.

Rudinio at Ironforge.

Another favorite of mine is “Where the Hell Is Grylax” by bucko415.

Grylax at Ragnarous’ Lair–The Molten Core.

I wish the character was a little closer to the screen. But Grylax the orc has got some great dance moves and even convinces his friends to join in at the end.

I got a kick out of the fact that the characters in World of Warcraft can even dance. There’s a whole page dedicated to dancing on the World of Warcraft Community Site. All the different races have their own gender-specific dances. And apparently some of those dances are based on “real” dances, like peanut butter jelly time.

A friend who introduced me to the His Dark Materials trilogy told me about this quiz on The Golden Compass movie Web site. After answering a series of 20 questions, I found out my daemon’s a fox.

I am “modest, spontaneous, sociable, inquisitive, and dependable.” Sound like me? On a previous run-through, I’d scored a crow daemon. As much as I love crows, I have to admit the fox traits more accurately describe me.

Anyway, I highly recommend the trilogy, which though marketed as a young adult fantasy, is actually a very smart, philosophical inquiry into religion and the meaning of life. The Golden Compass (which incidentally co-stars Daniel Craig and Eva Green, who were in Casino Royale together) comes out this Dec. 7, so there’s still time to devour the books before then.

Downtown D Train around 7:45 p.m., Thurs., 4/6 THANKS
Reply to: pers-306975493@craigslist.org
Date: 2007-04-06, 1:13AM EDT

Tonight, I found out the hard way that projectile vomit isn’t just a special effect from “The Exorcist.” I thought I’d be able to make it off the D train at Broadway-Lafayette but trying to hold it in just made it worse. After I threw up (explosively) on the train, a few passengers scurried away in disgust.

But some of you came through for me. I would like to thank the woman who gave me a plastic bag so I could clean up, the men who handed me wads of napkins, the train conductor who came out of his compartment to ask if I was OK, and above all, the red-haired guy who actually helped me clean up my mess. Your kindness was unexpected, and I can’t thank you enough.

And for those who were wondering but chose to mind their own business, I apologize for having overdone it. I’d given blood for the first time only half an hour earlier. I thought I was good to go but apparently losing one pint of blood does take a toll on one’s body, and I should have rested more before returning to my feet. (Not to discourage anyone from donating blood–just remember to give your body time to recover!)

*Location: D Train

No, it was not a fun experience. Yes, I’m feeling better.

For fans of Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, directed by Edgar Wright, will be in theatres Friday, Apr. 20. I’ve always enjoyed movies with recurring casts. Although Simon Pegg plays a much more competent guy in this movie than he did in Shaun of the Dead, it’s good to see Nick Frost again cast as the bumbling sidekick and Bill Nighy bring a faintly sinister edge to his character.

For fans of the Russian fantasy thriller Night Watch comes Day Watch, directed by Timur Bekmambetov, opening on Friday, June 1. Night Watch reminded me of The Matrix movies in its epic scope and action sequences. I know some people thought it was cheesy, and I agree that its story about the eternal struggle between good and evil isn’t masterfully original. Still, the movie had some gorgeous cinematography, and I expect to be awed by the effects in this second movie in a planned trilogy. (The final movie will be Dusk Watch.)

May 9 | Arcade Fire, Radio City Music Hall
May 10 | Air, Theatre at Madison Square Garden
May 11-May 18 | Bowie Picks, 10 Spanish Language Classics of the Last 100 Years, Clearview Chelsea Cinemas
May 19 | Ricky Gervais, Theatre at Madison Square Garden

Cost: Varies

A portion of the proceeds will go to Friends of the High Line, which is working with the City of New York to convert an old elevated railway in Manhattan into a park.

I had a box of Mini Moos (creamers), which I’d just grabbed from the supply cabinet. It totally slipped my mind that I was still holding onto that box when I stepped onto the scale. I can be an idiot sometimes.