Asymptomatic

Every so often I get this urge to have things, things that I really shouldn't buy. I usually end up making a list of these things and throwing them away. This is probably a good thing. But occasionally, I list them here so you can all see how materialistic I am.

I've been pricing out new desktop PCs lately. I've been trying to stay minimal but get the most for the money, knowing very little about individual components. My interest in knowing the minutia of component performance has waned over the years. What I've been pricing is a Core 2 Duo 2.67mhz (it seems that when you go Core 2, you might as well get the fastest one you can find), 4GB of RAM (I have 3 now, so I can't do with less), a super-fast system drive and a giant secondary drive, the fastest pair of DL-DVD writers I can get, and a motherboard that supports dual 16x PCI Express slots to hold matching dual-head video cards. What are my needs here?

Well, the main problem with the current machine sounds kind of silly, but it's the sound. It wasn't really a problem when I was using the PC at home for a few hours a night. But now that I work on it for 10+ hours a day in a small room, I'm beginning to notice a bit of hearing loss. Seriously. That just can't be allowed to continue. So I get to the point where I don't know what parts I need to replace to make the current PC quieter without crippling it (do I need a new power supply? different case fans?), and then I look at the server PC I bought a couple of months ago and don't hear at all and think that maybe it's time to step up....

You know I'm not going to give you the same washed-out "Buy an iPod Accessory" crap that you're getting from all the sales sites. I'm a pedigreed gadget-hunter. I've been meaning to write more about some of the crazy junk I have around the house, but I'm too busy messing with them and opening the UPS deliveries of new gadgets to bother!

Do you have a geek in your life? Maybe a blogger that would like to go pro? If so, then I've got a few gift ideas for you. If you know my tastes, you'll not be surprised by the gadgety for-kids-but-cool toys on the list, but also be aware that some of these prices aren't stocking-stuffer-sized.

And if you're buying for me - Yes, I want everything listed here.

Item #1 - Neuros MPEG4 recorderThis device hooks to any standard RCA a/v output, like that from your VCR or cable box, and allows you to record the video and audio directly to Memory Stick (yes, the video format used plays back on the PSP) or Compact Flash.

Oh, but that's just the first... more

We bought The Incredibles on DVD while we were out last night. It's a good flick if you haven't seen it. Typical Pixar, which is to say, "good stuff". The Jack-Jack Attack short on the extras disk is pretty good. It's about what happens to the babysitter when the rest of the family leaves Jack-Jack at home to chastise/rescue Mr. Incredible.

Berta told Abby that this DVD is a "real" copy of the movie, not the BitTorrent mpeg version that I've been playing on the mod-chipped XBox all this time. I followed up her comment by saying, "Yeah, and this one probably doesn't say 'Property of Disney and Pixar - No Not Duplicate'." But Berta was quick to reply, "This one probably does say, 'Do not duplicate'." Come to think of it, it probably says "Property of Disney and Pixar" too, so what exactly did I buy here?

We subsequently discussed Abby's super powers. After some thought, I've concluded that her super powers are many:...

I drew this neat thing over my little Christmas vacation. It's an anime-style cartoon of our little family, ready for the holidays.

I drew it in several pieces because I was afraid of wrecking it by having to use the eraser a lot. Fortunately, I didn't need to erase too much because it seems that my artistic skills have improved at least that much, even though I have not practiced in quite a while. On the down side, the entire drawing is spread over four pieces of paper.

Well, I've been lamenting our scanner for some time now. The old Umax Astra adds large yellow bars to anything scanned at full-page resolution, and it's the slowest scanner I've ever seen. The computer also frequently "looses" the scanner - as in, I'll be scanning and then suddenly the computer behaves as if someone sneeked into my office, unplugged the scanner, and ran off with it....

I'm becoming more annoyed with DVD production companies these days.

Nearly every Disney DVD has about a half hour of previews before the feature starts. Many of the discs don't let you push the menu button to skip directly to the menu. It's not possible to skip over the FBI warning or the INTERPOL warning at the beginning of many of these DVDs.

You can buy a blank writeable DVD at Staples for less than a dollar now, and still these movie DVDs cost $25 and up at the botiques. They jack up the price of the box citing the 43+ hours of extra features. Have you really ever bought a disc because of the extra features? more