I bought a first generation 12″ aluminum PowerBook in January 2003 as soon as it came out. At the time, Apple was not the ubiquitous laptop of anyone who considered themselves at least minimally cool. The large majority of people, even students, still had Windows-based machines. And for good reason — prior to OS X, the Macintosh operating system sucked. For a period of time, Windows was actually better than the Macintosh.
That aluminum PowerBook was well used for a few years; I did all my wedding planning, invitations, etc. on it. Managed photos and even did some Final Cut Express video editing on it. But for the past 3-4 years, it’s basically been a pretty and expensive paperweight.
This weekend, I gave it one last shot at reviving it and somehow trying to make it useful. I tried installing Fedora Core 11 for PPC but the installer did not work (graphics card issues). I then tried installing Ubuntu 9.04 and it installed perfectly. It even seemed to run faster than OS X 10.3 (the last Mac operating system I had installed on there). Unfortunately, about five minutes after I unplugged the power cord from the laptop, it died. I looked up the cost of a replacement battery and it was about $120. This computer itself probably isn’t worth $120 so I certainly do not want to sink another $120 into an almost seven year old laptop.
So I guess this makes this a farewell to my trusty old aluminum PowerBook. Rest in peace.
After a few days of wearing the CooperVision Avaira, I gave up on them. Although they were fairly comfortable while I was wearing them, they were a real pain in the butt to remove from my eyeball. They’re suctioned onto my eyeball pretty tightly. It’s weird because while I have them on, they don’t feel super dry or anything. I think there’s something about the material or coating that makes them really slippery and hard for me to get a hold of.
I’m now onto the Air Optix Aqua. I’ve worn these for a few days now. They’re as comfortable as the Acuvue Advance and they aren’t difficult to take off my eyeballs like the Avairas are. Unfortunately, they’re monthly replacement lenses and double the cost of the Acuvue Advance. It doesn’t make sense to me for CIBA Vision to make a monthly replacement lens their “flagship” lens. It sounds like the best thing to do for eye health is to replace your lenses as often as possible, so if a two week replacement lens is the same price as the monthly replacement lens and they’re both just as comfortable, why would anyone choose the monthly replacement lens? CIBA Vision should come out with a two week replacement version of the Air Optix Aqua (and no, the O2 Optix is not just a two week version of the Air Optix Aqua — they feel very different. Not sure if material and/or wetting agents are different).
It really looks like after all this, I’ll just be sticking with the Acuvue Advance. CIBA Vision, CooperVision — if you really want to increase your market share, you’re going to have to try a bit harder.
I’ve started my trial of the CooperVision Avaira 2 week silicone hydrogel disposable contact lens. I haven’t worn them during a work day yet, so they haven’t been exposed to my rigorous staring-at-the-computer-screen-all-day test. However, they felt great during the one weekend day I’ve tried them so far.
Unfortunately, they aren’t noticeably more comfortable than the Acuvue Advance, so it really comes down to price. The Acuvue Advance are $16 per box at lens.com, while the CooperVision Avaira are $19 per box on lens.com. Now, I know CooperVision probably thinks their primary competition is the Acuvue Oasys, so the Avaira is a cheaper alternative to the Oasys, but they should probably take note of the fact that a lot of people actually prefer the Acuvue Advance over the Acuvue Oasys, even without taking price into consideration. In fact, the Oasys is cheaper than the Advance right now because of the $100 Oasys rebate for first time wearers, but I would still choose the Advance over the Oasys.
So CooperVision, if you want me to buy your Avaira lens, you have to make it price-competitive with the Acuvue Advance — otherwise, there is no way I (or many other Advance wearers) will consider your lens.
I’ve been looking for a pair of sorta-slim (not skinny) jeans for the summer since the only pairs of jeans I owned were a pair of Gap black low-rise straight fit jeans and a pair of Gap dark blue standard fit jeans. I used to like the Gap “standard” fit but I’ve come to prefer slimmer fits. The Gap low rise straight fit is perfect for me.
Gap recently had a sale on their new 1969 jeans: $20 off! So the final price ends up being $34.50, a really good price for a decent pair of jeans. I usually order my jeans online because Gap.com sells jeans and trousers with an inseam of 28 (yes, I have really short legs). The shortest jeans that Gap offers in-store are 30 inseam jeans.
I ordered one pair of classic dark blue straight fit jeans and a pair of classic blue wash straight fit jeans. I thought they would basically be the same exact jeans except for a difference in color. However, it turns out the fit and fabric are also different. The classic dark blue fit a tiny bit looser than the classic blue wash. Also the denim fabric of the classic dark blue is notably softer than the classic blue wash. I noticed the classic dark blue jeans were made in Mexico while the classic blue wash were made in China, so it makes sense that they might use different fabric.
I wish Gap made it clearer that these are actually two very different jeans, instead of basically passing them off as the same but with different colors. I originally wanted a lighter color jean but since I liked the fit and feel of the darker jean more, I decided to keep that one.
Classic Dark Blue Straight Fit:
Classic Blue Wash Straight Fit:
I’ve been wearing the Acuvue Advance for a few days now so I can have a direct comparison with the O2 Optix. After going through all of that and getting ready to switch to the O2 Optix, I have to admit that I like the Acuvue Advance significantly more than the O2 Optix (and the Acuvue Oasys). I can wear the Acuvue Advance all day, even up to 14 hours straight, and not have my eye feel dry.
I’ll still try out the other lenses, especially since on commenter suggested I try the Air Optix Aqua, but right now, the Acuvue Advance has jumped up to the top of the list.