But they don't work for me

Frustration follows.

My primary function at work is to manage changes to the application I'm responsible for. Due to Sarbanes-Oxley constraints, I'm not allowed to touch data (can't even run read-only queries), I need special permission to make trivial code changes, etc. I write specs, I write test plans, and I sign papers.

So, obviously, I'm dependent upon others. I have a non-developer (helpdesk tech) deploying new version into the various environments. I have a non-technical person (but they know the business inside and out) doing the testing and reviewing. I have a contractor offsite doing the development. They're my eyes, ears & hands as things get worked on. I rely on them to make things happen.

But they don't work for me. I have no one that reports directly to me. Well, the contractor does, kind of, I guess.

So I'm at the mercy of the priorities of everyone else. Things can't get deployed because helpdesk is shorthanded. Things can't get tested because my tester has things due on a very specific schedule. I'm responsible for things getting completed, but I can't do anything personally to make them happen.

Frustration will continue, I'm sure.

Is 1280x800 enough?

The long-awaited MacBook was released today, the replacement for the 12" PowerBook and the iBook line. I've been waiting for this as it's the only way I'll be able to satisfy my MacLust and desire for a laptop all in one shot without having to skip a mortgage payment.

The display is 13.3", and the native resolution is 1280x800. I have some serious concerns as to whether that'll be enough. Not just for me - for lots of other people too. 1280 wide is great - both my home and work LCDs run that natively. But at 800 pixels, you're giving up 204 or 20% of the height. That's nothing to take lightly.

Sure, the external video can go up to 1920x1200, and at home I'm sure I'd have my current LCD plugged in to take advantage of that (with, of course, the $19 mini-DVI to DVI adapter, and a DVI cable), but on the road...will 800 pixels be enough?

I can't buy for a few months anyway, fortunately. But if I'm going to be doing photo & video editing on whatever laptop I get, maybe I need to go Pro, or (ugh) Windows?

We live in a zoo

Here's the animal tally so far:

• Squirrels in the attic
• Birds in the master bath wall
• Something (we think a woodchuck) under the toolshed
• A few carpenter bees
• Woodpecker going after said carpenter bees.
• The occasional mouse
• Our 2 cats

We think the squirrels were out tonight and may have gotten stuck. A small one attacked the kitchen window and was hanging off it for a couple minutes. He was trying desperately to get back on the roof to go "home" but couldn't get up there. His mother was trying to help. We have no idea where they ended up.

We found evidence of something under the shed last night when we got home from a weekend away. Today, my wife called to tell me that there was a woodchuck right outside the bedroom door, staring in at her, and one of the cats was right there staring back.

The carpenter bees I think I may have knocked out w/ some spray on Friday. There are probably a few lingering, but we'll get it taken care of.