Tech advice

Mac vs. Mac with Windows vs. Dual Boot Mac vs. PC

I may be getting a new laptop. I've heard one person say that their Mac running Windows was not performing to the level one would expect from "that much machine." Too slow, etc.

A PC would be much cheaper, but I've noticed that while my iBook seems none the worse for the wear when being dropped or knocked over, most of my friends' PCs seem to not be able to cope with even a little rough handling.

Printers/multifunction machines

If I stick with a Mac, any recommendations for printers, especially ones for which the cartridges aren't too expensive?

And, I'm told that the fax function on a multifunction is useless to me unless I have a landline... is that accurate?

Digital Voice Recorders

I'm also in the market for some kind of digital voice recorder; my impression is that Olympus is the way to go. I'd get an add-on mike for my iPod, except that the battery would not last the day at a conference.

Myers-Briggs

I hate tests like Myers-Briggs. I feel that the questions are generally poorly formulated, and often are phrased in such a way that presupposes that we can be categorized into a binary system.

However, since the Spryte is into it, I just took it online. I'm sure the results will surprise you all. I wasn't trying to be surprising either. Here's what I got:

INFJ

I was 11%
N was 50%
F was 38%
J was 1%

Introvert vs. Extrovert...

When suffering from depression or anxiety, or less than ideal social events at which I don't feel entirely at home, I am more of an introvert. When faced with a good mood and/or social events at which I feel quite at home (i.e. lots of people I know and feel comfortable around, no fear of being judged), I am an extrovert.

So, it varies. I'd say I straddle this line, overall, these days. The descriptions of each personality type ring true for me.

Intuitive vs. Sensing...

According to the webpage I'm looking at this is pretty accurate. I live in the future and past looking at patterns, rather than living in the present, looking at momentary observations.

Thinking vs. Feeling...

This one was way off, probably because the questions were poorly phrased. They didn't seem to allow for the idea of using emotions as a factor in your logical considerations. Like in the case of I vs. E, I'd say that I'm a bit of both. I am very empathic and sympathetic, and I react strongly to disharmony. But my decisions and assessments are generally based on logic. These questions don't seem to get that your thought processes can rule even if your emotions are torrential and your empathy/sympathy is strong.

Judging vs. Perceiving...

This one I'm really not sure about. Some of the characteristics and behaviours associated with J are ones I engage in, others are ones I don't engage in but know would be healthier for me. Likewise with P; some would be healthier for me but I don't do, some I do already but aren't always so healthy for me.

So, pegging me as barely a J may be accurate. I think that I want to be a P, and often act like a P to my detriment, but at the moment, in terms of what makes me happy, I'm a J. But, I still hold P as an ideal, and hope that with more treatment of my anxiety problems I can strike a healthier balance between the two, evolving towards someone who can function in both paradigms depending on the task at hand.

So that puts me according to my own assessment as an E/I N T/F J
Could be ENTJ, ENFJ, INTJ, or INFJ

Roles I have held either professionally or as a volunteer (or aspired to or identified with), over the course of my rather short life, are bolded:
(1) ENTJ Careers:
* Corporate Executive Officer; Organization Builder
* Entrepreneur
* Computer Consultant
* Lawyer
* Judge
* Business Administrators and Managers
* University Professors and Administrators

(2) ENFJ Careers:
* Facilitator
* Consultant
* Psychologist
* Social Worker / Counselor
* Teacher
* Clergy
* Sales Representative
* Human Resources
* Manager
* Events Coordinator
* Sales Representative
* Politicians / Diplomats
* Writers

(3) INTJ Careers:
* Scientists
* Engineers
* Professors and Teachers
* Medical Doctors / Dentists
* Corporate Strategists and Organization Builders
* Business Administrators / Managers
* Military Leaders
* Lawyers / Attorneys
* Judges
* Computer Programmers, Systems Analysts and Computer Specialists

(4) INFJ Careers:
* Clergy / Religious Work
* Teachers
* Medical Doctors / Dentists
* Alternative Health Care Practitioners, i.e. Chiropractor, Reflexologist
* Psychologists
* Psychiatrists
* Counselors and Social Workers
* Musicians and Artists
* Photographers
* Child Care / Early Childhood Development

So, anyway, Myers-Briggs doesn't work very well for me, because I'm too borderline on too many categories. I split them up, and I'm unapologetic about that. I'm tired of dumb cultural paradigms forcing me into binary boxes, or even proposing artificial spectrums that impose characteristics of mine in opposition to each other. I am what I am, and the MBTI does not capture me.

So there.

And the job search begins...

Torontoist.com is looking for bloggers and a copy editor. They probably pay utter crap. Any opinions on how good or bad they are, how worth writing for they are, etc.?

Wee.