After a thumb-enforced hiatus, I'm gingerly doing some keyboard tapping with my left hand in an attempt to see if it's as godawfully painful as it was a couple days ago. Things seem okay so far today, which probably means I can get back to posting and programming (yay). But to make sure, I'll write a rambling self-serving post which, ideally, nobody will read, about geeky things nobody really cares about.

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First, blogging software. I decided, after extensive experience with the various levels of broadband internet available to me in China -- ranging from "awesome," in the current case of a hotel in Beijing, to "godawful," which describes all other free wifi over here I've encountered -- that I need a good offline weblog writer.

So I went looking; I tried a ton of programs; BlogDesk, and a few others I can't remember now. I remember being fairly confident that my salvation lay in the open-source community. I was bound to find a slick, free, niche program put out by rogue nerds working in their spare time on a project only fellow obsessive-compulsive geeks like me cared about. So I looked and looked, but none of them were really up to scratch. But then I heard about a relatively new entry in the field from… Microsoft.

What?

Well… what the hell. It's not often I get to mock a new Microsoft product these days. Windows 7 is absolutely stellar, and ever since the MS Office developers decided it'd be a fun prank to hide all the UI elements from their users I've used OpenOffice. So I downloaded it, installed it, and; it's actually amazing. The UI is solid (even if they kind of overdid it on toolbars) and fairly intuitive, the design looks nice, it's broadly compatible and feature-rich (even going so far as downloading your weblog's CSS settings so it looks like you're typing right into your own page), and it's free.

Of course, it seems to largely be a purchase, polish, and release job of Onfolio, but it's astonishing to see this kind of product coming out of a company like MS. Especially considering Onfolio was a markedly inferior product and used to cost anywhere between $30 and $149. Microsoft bought it, tooled it up, and released it for free. They've actually really impressed me over the last year or so, while Apple continues to earn my uninterrupted derision.

So much material there, but I'll leave it alone for now. I have enough "Apple sucks" posts as it is.

Anyway. End result, I now use Windows Live Writer for all my weblogging needs, eschewing WordPress' online editor for stability, security, and usability reasons.

Ta-daa.

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Okay, now a kind of requiem for my shoes.

I love my shoes. They are Vasque Aether Tech SS trail runners, and they are, as I've said before, the most comfortable shoes I've ever worn. And I think they look pretty cool too. The only problem is, they don't last for shit. Granted, they are specifically built to be lightweight trail running shoes and therefore kind of lacking in the durability department.

However, I bought these shoes a little over a year ago brand-new, carried them around in that condition in my backpack for 6 months without ever using them, then used them maybe a total of a month over the 7 months after that.

Now they're literally falling apart. The little rubber gilly things have come loose and are flapping all over the place, and I have multiple holes appearing in the lining where it meets the midsole. And this isn't even from heavy use; I've just been walking around town and hitting the elliptical once in a while.

Plus, they don't grip anything unless it's dry or dirt/sand/rock. Walking around town in or after the rain in these shoes is like trying to walk on ice in slippers. No traction whatsoever. I've gone ass-over-tip once already, and learned to either mince around like a Lipizzaner stallion with infected hemorrhoids, or give up on the laughable pretense of walking and just hydroplane around all day, like I did my first time in Shanghai. That was kind of fun, but no way to get around reliably if you have any fear at all of faceplanting.

So… recommendation withdrawn, I guess. No sense spending $120+ for shoes that only last for a month or so. Wearing them back to the States so I can turn them back to REI… I'm starting to feel really bad about returning stuff to them (fully expecting a comment from Han on this one), so I guess another REI shopping spree is in the works, either this trip or my next when I hopefully have Jing Jing with me and can finally get her fitted for a decent backpack. But as far as a good shoe goes, back to the drawing board.

After reading Born to Run, I'm actually thinking of picking up a pair of those Bruce Lee kung-fu mocs (black and white cloth flats) that I can get around here for like $5 a pair. Could come in useful when I need to not look like I'm wearing amputated gorilla feet.

I did a mental freeze-frame jump-in-the-air cheer while reading that title, I hope you all did too.

I just installed some terrible Nokia software, as a last-ditch effort, because Windows 7 can't or won't properly install drivers for my phone, which means I can't send pictures across to my PC via Bluetooth.

And as it turns out, the software actually isn't terrible. I can sync and backup all the data back and forth from my phone, and I can even compose text messages on my PC and send/receive them via my phone, which is incredibly useful, since I have very limited Chinese literacy, and MDBG's kickass PC on-screen dictionary isn't available on my phone.

And... something which is really mind-blowing for me... there's internet tethering built right in; I just plug my phone into a USB port or connect via Bluetooth, click a "Connect to the internet" in the software, and I'm surfing via a tethered connection. Suck it, Apple.

These may be fairly commonplace for PC phone software these days, but the last time I installed software on my PC for my cell phone, all it did was give me a handy new way to crash my computer. So this is kind of a revelation.

So, in celebration… pictures, still warm from my pocket:

Ordered a cappuccino, and I got this.	Some kind of beverage in the supermarket. Thinking I shouldn't buy a few to take on the plane.
I would actually pay to see this movie.	Ditto this one.

Quick write-up of my new wallet(s), mostly for Adam's benefit:

I received my All-Ett nylon travel wallet, my All-Ett leather 'sport' wallet, and my MoneyClamp. I really dig them all.

The All-Ett nylon travel wallet is incredibly thin, and will be perfect for storing my passport, extra cash, cards, and IDs in an inside jacket pocket or a front pocket in my jeans while traveling. It's far too big for everyday use, but for its intended purpose I like it way better than my old hideaway money pouch, which I never used properly anyway.

The All-Ett leather 'sport' wallet is a fantastic everyday wallet. It's sized for US currency, so its thinness becomes questionable when you have to start folding international currency in half lengthwise to fit in the cash pocket. But it's still pretty damn thin, and it has my old Fossil bifold beat all to hell. It'll be my go-to wallet here in the States and while traveling, when I'm carrying more cards and random slips of paper than usual. The only problem I have with it is that I need about 3 cards in each card pocket before I start feeling confident about them not sliding out as soon as I open the wallet.

The MoneyClamp is awesome, despite the douche factor. I'm going to dispense with the leather card holder, and just wrap cash around cards. Since I'll mostly be carrying cash and maybe 4 cards -- ATM, emergency credit, passport copy, health insurance info -- on a daily basis in China, this is the perfect solution. The only problem is that I'll have to be a little more careful about where and when I pull out the money clip, since it'd be an open invitation for pickpockets if you have a neat little package of bills out in the open like that. At least with a wallet, your money's kind of hidden when you have it out. It's also surprisingly heavy, but I suppose it'll be a little reassuring to have that weight to remind me where my money is.