 Updated entry, in the light of a 'phone call which came at an hour when the culprit would normally go to the top of my hit list:
A shot of the new cat is needed, since this is pure, pristine Panther, though this Monday morning I'm changing the picture.
She will know why, while the message won't be so very cryptic to other attentive friends.
Mac OS X 10.3 became the motor of the machine on Friday and I haven't "opened the box" yet to find out what I like -- or don't -- about the new operating system. James Duncan Davidson gave us his "ten things I dig" a month ago. JDD has since moved on to give us his impression of one of those things I most look forward to exploring myself, in another article for O'Reilly on Xcode.
I did wipe the hard disk clean, repartitioned it into two (rather than four) and reinstalled Mac OS X and 9.2.2 from scratch, as well as all the programmes I've decided to keep -- a majority of what I used on Jaguar.
The upgrade can be done in just a few hours, but mine took three days because I "reinvented" my machine in the light of the past few years' experience with OS X, my renewed passion for music and other arts as central to my life, and the consequent need for plenty of free space.
The fun and games bit, all the exploring and the hacking, begins now. It wasn't until Panther went in that I saw to what extent the people who have remarked on similarities between Apple's new OS and Windows XP were right. In aspects of the appearance at least.
That ... must change!
Then, "proper" blogging resumes.
 The Wildcat has been getting up to more than enough this weekend for both of us, but much as I'm keen to recount her latest adventure, I'd be in very hot water if I did.
Instead, she has asked for more jasmine. When I found illustrator Diana Lambourne's picture, the request made excellent sense the day after the night of the full moon, eclipse, adventure and all.
"Emotionally warming. Relaxes, soothes, uplifts and helps self confidence. Good for stress and general anxiety. Perfect skincare oil, excellent for hot, dry skin. Sensual properties and reputedly an Aphrodisiac! Only needs to be used in very small quantities. Exquisite perfume. A vast quantity of blossoms, which must be gathered at night when their scent is at their highest, are required to produce only a few drops of oil, so it is a very expensive oil."
From what they say of jasmine at a Guide to Aromatherapy, it has more secrets than even the Wildcat suspected.
The same, I'm surprised to learn, goes for the daffodil.
 This being an exceptionally challenging day for her, I'm happy to overcome my hesitation about giving the Wildcat one of these favourites as well. Though out of season in these northern climes, it emerges this morning that the daffodil is more than the flower of "unrequited love".
Several websites inform me that it has another significance well suited to the occasion, and that's one way of holding her hand in spirit, if not in the flesh, sharing the sunshine we're blessed with again after a dismally grey weekend.
This other meaning is given at 'Did you know?', a Canadian compendium of a kind to delight Trivial Pursuit addicts.
Just one example I'm bound swiftly to forget is that:
"The world is divided into six floral kingdoms
1. Holarctic kingdom: (North American west coast and Central Asia)
2. Paleotropical kingdom (Central Africa)
3. Neotropical kingdom (South America)
4. Australian kingdom
5. Holantarctic kingdom (Tip of South America)
6. Capensis kingdom (Western Cape, South Africa)"
The picture itself is the work of Ashley, who has many more computer desktop wallpapers on offer at 'girlmecha', some of them very attractive indeed.
That's 'girlmecha.net', not .com, which is yet another porn site.
Since the Wildcat was far more taken aback than I'd have expected last night, when the occasion arose to tell her of teenage times when I had a devastating crush on a classmate and thought I was gay, she may be entertained by the "About Ashley" on what regrettably seems to be a deceased 'blog.
There's nothing quite like such upfront honesty, tongue slightly in cheek or not. The girl has got considerable talent too. But if you're as inclined as I am to pinch some more of her wallpaper, do drop her a line to say "Thanks"...
"Em, did you, er, ...?"
The answer was "yes".
We'll draw a veil over the rest of that talk of an episode which served to remind her of the extent to which I was a product of a single-sex public school. If a singularly rebellious one...
11:39:37 PM link 
|
|
postbox