Well, my last rant and the reader reactions to it did a good job of reminding me why I usually don't share my opinions: they're often poorly-thought-out. I don't apologize for them, but I do understand that they can come across in a negative way. This is largely why I cut down on such idea-sharing last year: it's not my place to foist my opinions on you. The stories were the main thing. Now that they're over, what does that leave?
Every time I rant away, as I did that last time, I am reminded of the reasons why it is best to try and not let the world's idiocy get to me. Unfortunately, I possess a temper and a general lack of ability to control it.
Anyhow, here's something different: I just bought a brand-new desktop computer. That's right, after the 1995 debacle with the Packard-Bell, it took me seven years to test the waters again. Let's see what's up:
| year | model | CPU | RAM | monitor | OS | other | cost |
| 5/1995 | Packard-Bell | 90 MHz Pentium | 32 Mb | 14" | Windows 95 | modem | $1999 + tax |
| 2/2002 | Dell | 1.7 GHz Pentium 4 | 512 Mb | 19" | Windows XP | modem, ethernet card, CD-RW | $1530 + tax, shipping |
So there's that. Along with it, I bought about 8 O'Reilly books, lots of graphic and web design software, and a scanner and a ZIP drive. About all I'm missing is DSL. But when you have the internet 80 hours a week, 7 days a week, minimum 8 hours each of those days, you tend to not want the internet at home (I know I don't!) Maybe someday.
That's all for now: me sort of apologizing and also touting my recent purchase. Next time, I WILL discuss writing.