In LA

It seems that some of the batteries that shipped with the 15-inch MacBook Pro (MBP) do not meet Apple’s “high standards for battery performance”, so “Apple has initiated a worldwide battery exchange program”. My MBP’s battery has seemed to work just fine, but its serial number is within the range of affected batteries, and I don’t mind exchanging it for a new battery that has “better” performance, so I filled out Apple’s Battery Exchange Program form and look forward to receiving the replacement.

I wonder in what way the MBP batteries have been found to be deficient? Will my new battery store more power than the old, or charge more quickly, or generate less heat? Let’s see what a google search uncovers.

1. Some MBP batteries have swollen, possibly due to overheating (could this be the reason to replace my battery, before it swells?)
   
2. MBP’s shutting down when battery still contains 33% capacity (I have not experienced this)
   
3. Battery life of 15 Minutes after Firmware Upgrade (I haven’t experienced this either. It’s interesting to note that this particular link is hosted on Apple’s Discussions site. Nice to see that Apple provides space for users to publically post negative information about their products and hopefully find solutions to the problems)
   
4. Apple issuing replacement batteries to owners of early MBP batteries, and here, and here (mine is from a later batch than these)
   
5. People complaining about fried MBP batteries (This is the sort of thing that can happen with Lithium-Ion batteries, when they go bad they can really go bad)
   

Well, like I said, I have not experienced any problem with my MBP battery that I know of. I’m not too worried to read the problem reports to which I’ve linked –due to the number of MBP’s sold if even a small percentage of them exhibit problems I’d expect to see a ton of reports collected on the net. But if my battery comes from a batch that just might experience even one of the forementioned problems, I’m happy to participate in Apple’s exchange program. At the very least, I’m exchanging a few month old battery for a brand new one.

I bought this really awful mini cordless optical mouse a while back to use with my laptop. It looked like a nice little mouse and worked well at first, and has the features I was looking for. It looks nice, uses two AAA batteries, charges over USB, has 3 buttons and a scroll wheel, is about the right size and shape, etc. Unfortunately, it runs out of batteries within an hour of use and never seems to charge the batteries fully, so subsequent uses last about 20 minutes. I should have known something was wrong since the thing came with no manual and without the name of any manufacturer on it. When the battery runs down the mouse becomes all jittery and the pointer shakes its way towards the lower-right corner of the screen.

Because it seemed like a good idea to throw good money after bad, I went to the local store and bought a couple more NiMH rechargeable batteries and a charger. Now I could charge one set of batteries while using the other set in the mouse, then change them (every hour during periods of heavy use). It’s a pain, but works.

I was recently at a gig and away from my computer for a couple of days. When I returned, the batteries in the mouse were (of course) dead. So I pulled the fresh pair that had been charging for two days from the charger.

As soon as I put the batteries in the mouse I heard a reasonably loud popping sound. As any reasonable person would do with batteries that sound like they might be about to explode, I pulled them out of the mouse and held them to my ear. The popping sound was less noticeable, but there. The body of the mouse must have amplified the vibrations.

I guess my charger is not what they call a “smart charger”, and instead of stopping when the battery is full of juice it just keeps pumping the battery with voltage until its insides start to percolate away. I’m no battery scientist and don’t feel like doing the research necessary to figure out what’s actually going on at the molecular level, so if you’re curious please feel free to search google and enlighten me as to the details.

As for the bubbling batteries? I waited a few minutes, they stopped making noises, and I put ‘em in the mouse where they seem to be working just fine. I think from now on I’ll never leave the batteries in the charger for more than 12 hours at a time.

Today, a strange set of disparate activities:

1. Spent the morning working on my CV and looking for work (I’d say “resume” but am unsure whether or not it requires an accent mark on the final.”é”.
2. Met a friend in Qianmen and wandered around the hutongs (old narrow alleyways), occasionally buying street food or talking to locals.
3. Bought some Chinese language children’s books and flashcards (for study), and a Chinese character practice book (for adults).
4. Returned home and made a salad of tomatoes and zatar.
5. Cleared away all toiletries from the leaking bathroom sink (will need to get that fixed).
6. Watched an episode of a Minneapolis public access show Drinking with Ian, or at least peered at it occasionally and listened while cleaning. I’m not sure how that happened. That show’s live audience really seemed extra appreciative, impressive for a public access show. It was probably a good idea for the host to give them all alcohol.
7. Searched for an airline ticket to Minneapolis so that I can hopefully go to my cousin’s wedding. August appears to be a tough month for international travel originating in China.

It’s difficult to create or do anything truly original these days. But I think a day that included walking down old Beijing streets, eating Zatar, and watching Minneapolis public access, counts as unique, and is unlikely to be repeated.

I was planning to collect and post my thoughts on the disappearance of Chinese filmmaker and blogger Hao Wu, but I’m happy to report that he has reappeared before my slow thought processes could finish. Hao Wu, a Chinese-born U.S. permanent resident, was working on a documentary film about an underground Christian Church in China when he was “detained” by police on February 22, 2006. Hao was an active blogger and journalist, and it is unknown whether he was detained for these activities or for filmmaking. He was never charged with a crime and was not allowed to meet with an attorney. His case received a lot of attention the world over, and is documented at the Free Hao Wu website. On my recent trip to Minnesota, I was very happy to see his face on the front page of the Wall Street Journal. Thankfully, Hao Wu has been released after almost five months in prison and is now resting with his family in Beijing. I am glad, and wish them all well. He sounds like a cool guy, and I hope to see his film one day.

There are still many people who have been detained or imprisoned in China for exercising what many consider to be a fundamental human right, freedom of speech. I hope that the Chinese legal system will further develop to offer Chinese people these and other rights they are supposed to be granted in the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China, such as the freedom of speech granted them in article 35, freedom of religious belief (article 36), freedom from unlawful detention (article 37), etc etc.

I saw a second Beijing car accident yesterday. It was a near identical situation to a car accident I wrote about a month ago, but with a taxi substituted for that accident’s cement truck. If I were to draw a conclusion from these two accidents, it would be that drivers need to pay more attention when merging and turning. And though these accidents don’t look terribly hazardous, the lack of attention on the part of the driver that they highlight ought to make those of us on bicycles really nervous.

On the plus side, the central government appears to be taking steps to increase automotive safety. Before I left I was thinking of writing a post to complain about the lack of seat belts in Beijing taxis. At the time, most taxis lacked seat belts in the back seat, I think the drivers actually removed them. When I sat in a taxi a month ago that had seat belts in the back, as soon as I started fastening the belt the driver informed me that wearing a seat belt in a back seat is unnecessary. But yesterday I was in three different cabs, and they all had readily accessible seat belts for all of the car’s seats. On the freeway from the airport, I also noticed a large sign informing drivers to maintain a safe distance from the car ahead of them. Very cool.

I had a great time in Minneapolis, and then flew from Minneapolis to Detroit, Detroit to Tokyo, and Tokyo to Beijing. That was the longest period of time I’ve ever spent in the air, and it really wasn’t too bad. I did have to face the dreaded 747 bathroom sink a couple of times, and my computer ran out of battery while I watched a DVD on the longest leg of the flight, forcing me to switch to studying Chinese from a book, but otherwise everything was pleasant, and I needed to study.

The last leg, from Tokyo to Beijing, was on a nice new Airbus A330. This plane featured LCD TVs above and 75W power outlets below every seat. My laptop has an 85W power supply, so in order to power the computer from the plane I had to remove the laptop’s battery (this cuts out the charging circuitry so the computer draws less power from the outlet). In this manner I was able to watch another two episodes of Battlestar Galactica season 2, which is an amazing show.

A digression is due here to discuss Battlestar Galactica, in case you’ve never heard of it. BG is a new rendition of an 70’s sci-fi TV show, and it airs on the SciFi channel. Rather than push mere nostalgia and kitsch, the creators of the new Battlestar Galactica threw out everything from the old show besides some character and ship names and basic plot elements, and created something new, intelligent, and exciting. It is fun to contrast the new BG with the Star Trek universe –as opposed to the utopian vision espoused by Star Trek, BG feels to have been cut from the real world. Its characters come from a poly-theistic society with many imperfections rather than a perfectly fair “Federation”. There are characters with petty personal issues, depression, commanding officers with drinking problems, terrorists, prisoners, narcissistic science officers, and many characters simply behaving badly. The writers put these folk in impossibly tight situations and the ensuing chaos is delicious. The episodes I just finished watching, entitled “Pegasus” and “Resurrection Ship (Part 1 & 2)” were particularly outstanding. I like the show so much I don’t begrudge the writers for veering into to Philip K. Dick territory with some themes and characters, since frankly they do Dick much better than any film that has been based on actual Dick novels.

Congrats are due to the BG team for their 3 emmy nominations. This show has some of the best writing and one of the best ensemble casts on TV, so I’m a little surprised they didn’t receive any writing, casting, directing, or editing nominations, but nominations in 3 technical categories is nothing to sneeze at.