Seasons Greetings and Happy Hogidays!

I recently attended a wonderfully holidelicious (yeah, I used it) event to promote the local cottage food industry.  I love this segment of business in America! The proprietors are highly entrepreneurial, have an infectious passion for their product, and hold even more passion for the creation process.  They typically are also very adept at packaging, design, and marketing.  Add all of these qualities to the fact that being a foodie or gourmand (or worse yet a "gastronaut") is hip lately, and you've got all the points that bring a lot of excitement to this market segment.  Some evidence of this...

One of the vendors that tagged along to this event was a local photographic artist, Marvin Shaouni and a certain photograph he was exhibiting really make me laugh.  Before you gaze to the bottom of the blog to see it, I'll apologize in advance for those who are offended by it, and I am honest in that apology. How so?  Well, I may have been off put by the pic myself, were it 1995.  I went through a phase in university and early 20s that kept me far from anything pig.  Anything.   I had a very disturbing discussion with a Puerto Rican friend leading me to believe that eating anything pork would lead to a health issue I care not to repeat.  He was a doctor no less!

Jose Maria brought me back to reality...around 2002, I found myself on business travel in Spain for a few weeks.  I spent the weekends exploring the area around Madrid, and landed in Segovia for a day.  Jose Maria is a classic Segovian purveyor of "cochinilla asado", aka lechon, aka roast sucking pig. Seeing this dish prepared and eating it alone overturned any worry about eating pig, as well as erasing associated bad memories of eating fake bacon, spam, etc.  Unconceivably delicious was the roast suckling pig that was served, and incredibly beautiful was Segovia (above).  Yes, that's a functional Roman Acueducto that runs right through town center.

In the years following my visit to Segovia, I've found great gourmet pork options from around the world that have continued my belief that pork has to be the most excellent meat (excepting fish), considering nutrition, taste, and impact on the world.  I've even found a restaurant paying the ultimate homage to the delish piggies, Museo del Jamon in Buenos Aires - a restaurant that all but worships pork - be it cured, salted, roasted, etc.

In this holiday time of stepping back, recognizing all of our blessings, and being thankful for things that make us smile in the world, I thought I'd pass one of mine along in the blog.  Wonderful holiday cheer to all, be thee a lover of jamon, salmon, or lemon!

Computation Rumination

Have I found the impossible - a niche unfilled in the laptop market?!

I'll freely admit I have very high standards, but I simply want a very well made piece of hardware that I can use to make my daily computing activities easier/faster/less frustrating.  I'd also like the ability to set the thing up with some custom methods and themes.  I'd buy something that is a standard platform, which means that all relevant application makers aspire to create software for.  I'd ideally prefer to give my money to a company that does as much as possible in the US, and doesn't have a single ego at the helm.  Lastly, and we're getting deeper into "wishlist" territory now,  I think technology products should wow buyers, even IT professionals.  Apple has been great at this...and Siri is an excellent example.

Ok, I'm not a fan of Apple's approach to customer treatment.  I think Apple, in defense of making things "easy" and "intuitive" robs consumers of a more unique experience.   There are many instances within iOS where Apple has already decided what is the "best" way to accomplish a task, and that's that.  Sure, it keeps it simple, but again, doesn't allow for consumers of varying computer athleticism to ratchet up.

Apple also makes some design decisions that help to promote the uniqueness, yet really is the marketing value worth greater than the frustration cost?  For example, the iPhone/iPad/iPod battery cannot be replaced without a costly visit to an Apple store.   Are all these Apple batteries really that different, that Apple couldn't just design in a way for consumer replacement?   I suppose the Appolytes really aren't going to complain, so perhaps I've already answered my question.

Microsoft's product are like swiss cheese. Even with the most vigilant application of limits on plug ins and helper apps, etc Windows becomes unacceptably slow and unusable over time based on the unending patches required.  Why so many patches - because the security issues just keep coming.  Score one in the Apple column here.

Apple also does it right in the hardware category...they build machines that are solid!  Seriously, some of the pieces literally feel like a block of aluminium.  But they don't always work.  For instance, I've had mobile to mobile conversations with 20 or so people in the last week.   I had my ears tuned to listen for a specific voice quality I first heard when I knew I was talking to an iPhone 4 user.   I heard the robotic, digitized sounding vocal quality 7 times in the week...and whaddya know - each and every was an iPhone 4 owner.   Seriously, if it can't do the phone part right, then change the damned name.

Anyway, after the deliberation of this blog, I think I've figured out why I don't need to start a computer company.

1. Apple will start making some decisions by majority vote, and let consumer feedback play as big a role as CEO's ego plays
2. PC makers will realize that Apple is crushing them and one or two will finally approach Apple's quality
3. The era of the Appolyte is closing, and with it the general norm of society that it's not cool to challenge anything Apple does

By sometime in 2012, I should be all set.  Until then I'll just need to make due with the hot, slowing, piece of PC on my lap.  So, as with other things in life, patience pays off.  :)