I gave a lot of thanks for Edmonton Code Camp, but there was one debt of gratitude I owe that I did not include in my original post, which I am now rectifying.  In fact, I could go so far as to say my part of the presentation at Code Camp would have been a spectacular, unmitigated *failure* if not for...

My custom alpine green Macbook Pro computer~!


Yes, at last I am comfortable announcing to the world that I, too, have been converted to the side of the Mac.  I will admit I am hard pressed to determine which of my two children is more attractive; my Worldvision sponsor son Jaturapat or this Macbook Pro.  I think that the Macbook Pro may have a slight advantage against Jaturapat since Jaturapat, last I checked, does not have a British racing green car paint finish on him.  In fact, due to my own lack of green finish, the Macbook Pro *MIGHT* even be sexier than mysel...no, forget that, it's crazy talk.  CRAZY TALK.

I had been torn about getting a Macbook for some time.  Two things caused me to stop wandering in the darkness and make the switch over to God's notebook:

• The Macbooks have recently switched over to an Intel processor chipset.  This allows for the existence of Windows XP SP2 on the Macbook without use of a virtual machine.  (Of course, ironically I haven't touched Boot Camp at all but spend the majority of my Windows time in Parallels).  Now I have the best of both worlds and can still do .NET development on the machine!
• Ruby.  I originally thought that Ruby was only appreciated by drug-addled elitist hippies.  However, after exploring it without the use of hallucinogens I went from thinking Ruby was just some weird cult thing to being an enthusiastic booster of the language myself.  Of course, this led me to think of the *other* weird cult I had known: that of the Mac.  Seriously, I could *not* understand why some of my friends were so fascinated by these machines to the point of almost threatening me with violence if I did not come over to see their latest install of Mac OS.  But I decided that if the Ruby cultists were right after all, there was a distinct possibility that the legions of Mac-loving psychopaths were right as well.

I can tell you that they were.  This machine is *ridiculous*.  I love it *almost* as much as I love myself.  Some of the other things I've noticed about this exquisite piece of machinery:

• people can't stop putting their hands on it
• people often ask where *they* could get a machine like this to have all to themselves
• I, myself, can't stop looking at it
  
• I have seen women fight over the chance to use it
  
• some of the reactions when I take it outside:
• heads turn
• winking
• whistling
• licking of lips in seductive fashion (flattering most times, but awkward when it's the Igloo Coder)

Is it any wonder I love the Macbook Pro so much?  We have been through the same things in life.

If you are a regular reader of D'Arcy's blog, you'll no doubt be wondering if I had the same trials and tribulations as he did when getting his Mac.  I am happy to say I had no problems at all and that I actually received my Mac *sooner* than I expected.  D'Arcy will tell you this is because I ordered my Mac custom, but I can reveal to you the *real* reason why D'Arcy's Mac was so delayed: because Apple, being a stylish manufacturer, doesn't like to ship its Macs to the "dead zones" of fashion. I've attached a map of Canada to explain: