SamanthadotTk

So I’ve spent the last week or so not writing in my notebook and barely writing on here. I’ve repeated my goodbyes to Louie and rambled about my state of mind during those days. Am I any better this week? Unless someone asks me directly what’s going on, I try not to dwell on Louie being gone. I’ve spent more time keeping an eye on Treyford; paying attention to his pained whining and his not wanting to eat much of anything. Am I worried about him? I think he misses his packmate and doesnt know what to do with himself without Louie around to give him a role to play. I sound like Im channeling Ceasar the Dog Whisperer but I have a feeling that that is what’s going on with the labrador.

R suggested that we think about getting Trey a younger playmate. The idea of getting another dog isn’t something that >I’m< ready for. I don’t think Trey would take well to another dog if he’s already suffering from stress. This is the same dog that bit me and I took his testicals away to calm him down. I think I know him well enough to figure out how to get him through this. Another dog, although we have the space and the care for an animal in need, just isn’t what we need right now. It’s the same mentality that Dad had when we got Eddie so soon after Brownie passed so horribly.

Ok, so I’m still venting out some of this grief.

I really don’t know who the hell is coming to this site, but you’re just wasting your time thinking you’re gonna find anything special or illicit.

I need to get to working on the CD for Dad, the test for Kelly and the want-to-do list for Kimberly. Three tasks that I agreed to do, why can’t I light a fire under my ass and get them done? I listened to the requests and said yes willingly, but there’s just no drive to get them done.

I keep looking at computer manufacturers’ websites with the hope that one day soon I can get a new system and replace my Alienware. I’ve written about my laptop before,  its still a good computer if I don’t need to rely on it. Games or anything that doesn’t require storage as my computer keeps requiring reformatting from time to time.

Chibi recently got a Sony Vaio Z. I have to admit, the E series is up my ally. Yes, I will have to have the matching pink keyboard cover.

• Intel® Core™ i5-520M processor (2.40GHz) with Turbo Boost up to 2.93GHz
• Genuine Windows® 7 Professional 64-bit
• Hibiscus Pink
• Pink Keyboard Skin
• 500GB Hard Disk Drive (5400rpm)
• 8GB (4GBx2) DDR3-SDRAM-1066
• ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD 5470 GPU (512MB VRAM)
• Blu-ray Disc™ player/burner
• Fresh Start
• No additional Office Software
• No additional AntiVirus Software

• Engraving
• Large Capacity Battery

I’m going to ramble/rant quite a bit here, as I didn’t write for the past two days and feel like I need to make up for it somehow with something NOT related to : the dogs, Supernatural, TV, reading, bad poetry or writing in general. Which is typically what I write about in my pen and paper notebook.

So I’m going to meander about one of my constant companions: my computer.

I have had this love/hate relationship with my laptop since first getting it in September 2006.

I love that it was mine alone and that nothing on it would “surprise” me like someones’ picture galleries used to on the old shared computer. 

I love that I had ample space to create images or websites as needed and that I could carry the entire outfit to any place in the house and keep working. Which is kinda funny as I’ve taken the system outside the house maybe 5 times over the next 3.5 years. Leaving it mostly on the desk that I’ve built an ever growing intricate collage of office detritus around it. 

I hate the heat that it generated which ultimately negated my using it anywhere but on the home desk with an industrial laptop cooling pad under neath. For a laptop, I never could keep the thing on my lap for more than 5 minutes without burning myself.

I hate that I killed the media reader on the thing with one stupid move very early in the residency and have yet been able to use any of the memory cards I’ve compiled over the years with it.

I hate that the space under the keys are getting gross as I’ve kept the rest of the machine immaculate. No dust nor no dog hair. I hate that getting under there to clean will probably end up with something else broken on the machine.

I hate that it’s now 3 going on 4 years old. It’s soon going to be time to look to another machine to depend on and Im not entirely sure I’m ready for that change. I know it’s coming soon as issues are begining to multiply and I’m not sure how many more times I’ll be able to resurrect the hard drive before the motherboard decides to head on up to the electric hereafter.  As much as I like to think I’m technologically savy, I just dont have the heart in me to gut the machine and rebuild it personally.  So a new computer it will be.

So will I keep to laptops? Migrate to a netbook for weight’s sake? Or head back to my first PC love: a desktop?

These past 4 years this machine has been my link to friends out in the world,  to keep up with the news around mybackdoor and a means for entertainment with a newfound love of MMOs.  

What a computer means to me now is not what one meant to me 5 years ago or a decade ago.  It’s when my computer is down for the count that I am quickly reminded how imporant these machines have become. It’s as central to our lives as many other appliances that we don’t really pay much attention to but depend so much upon.  I grew up thinking that people who lived without a telephone were strange and neolithic. Now when I hear people mention not being online I experience shock and wonder at the information they are missing out on. Yes, I’m a born and bred TechnoSnob.

10 years ago One Laptop Per Child was a pipe dream. Now children in financially-challenged countries have access to learning materials to bring their educations into the 21rst century, giving them better tools to lead their countries when they grow up.  

It’s going to be fascinating to see how the computer impacts life in the next 4 (10, 15, 25) years and the technology that will come into existence. 

To be honest: I can’t wait.

I’m pretty sure I’ll still be moaning about harddrives and keyboard gunk.