In case of evil clown, pull string
Aug. 9th, 2003 01:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cosmolinguistThe printer didn't get thrown out the window on Thursday ... but it did Friday morning, just before Matthew and I left. This was the printer Matthew ahd originally given me with the computer I was using, the one that has no Linux drivers, which is why I have a new printer. He'd agreed to let Seth use that old one, since Seth's printer is ten years old and works only if you press the paper into it, sacrifice things to a volcano god, or wait for the planets to be in the correct alignment. Or something like that. So he plugged the printer in, it made a popping noise, and smoke came out of it. So I told Matthew of this, and also that Seth and I had jokingly said we should throw it out the window. It'd be fun, we thought. It was the kind of thing you always want to do to your computer but can never justify. One day this week Matthew asked, "Has he done it yet?" No, I said. Knowing Seth, his reason and sensible nature would take over, and he'd find some excuse why it wasn't a good idea. I told Matthew that, too. I was diappointed; I have no reason or sensible nature and really liked the idea of throwing the printer out a window. "Tell him to wait until I get there," Matthew said. "If he doesn't I will."
Friday morning Matthew had set the alarm for seven (which was only about 45 minutes after I'd gotten home from work, which was the best sleep I got that whole day). We got up, took showers, collected our things, and Matthew told me that he'd told Seth that if he wanted to be present at the printer-throwing he should be up around 7:50. Amazingly, he was. We took the printer out on the balcony--so it wasn't quite like throwing it out a window, we just all walked through the sliding glass door--and Seth and Matthew debated what they should be aiming for. They decided the parking lot (which was nearly empty; we're not destructive to other people's things) was a good idea. Seth threw the printer and it didn't go all the way to the parking lot, which is just as well, as it landed on grass and broke into few enough pieces that the two of them could carry them easily to the nearby dumpster.
Then Matthew and I went to his house, where there were many computer-related things for him to do. He's selling my old computer at the garage sale they're having today, and giving me new things. Also, the components of his own new computer came in the mail and were waiting for him, and his family had wireless broadband installed just before we got there, so he had to set that up too. I think he was afraid of me being bored, but I was fine. Sleepy, but not bored. I like his family. I talked with his mom, played my old guitar (which his brother John now has), helped Matthew sort his computer games into "sell" and "keep" piles, checked my e-mail with the fancy new broadband, and ate a lot of good food. Oh, and I took a nap, as I'd only slept about two hours--and not consecutively--that night.
My computer isn't done yet--for boring, Linuxy reasons, and this is already long enough--so I went home with only the dirty clothes I brought with me to be washed, and a cactus Matthew's mom had given me (since she'd been going to sell it anyway, and I said I liked it). Oh, and a red recorder, since I somehow ended up telling her the story of how I learned it so I could play with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
star_eyed_lady and be her recorderist last winter. They're intending not so much to make money as to get rid of things, so I guess I was helpful for that.
My new computer will actually be pretty cool. Matthew said I could gloat to Seth about having a faster processor than he does, and that was before he had to switch the processor (and the motherboard). I think the one I'm actually ending up with is 900 or 950 MHz. He says this unintentional upgrade he had to give me means I have his third-best computer, which is impressive. It has a brand-new power supply we had to drive half an hour to get, since the one he'd been planning to use ended up not working. I have something like 384 megs of RAM, because he doens't have anything better to do with it than put it in that computer. And I now have 7 GB of disk space instead of the three I'd had before, as he had another disk he could add to that original one. And a 17" monitor, which is nothing compared to the 19" flat-panel he bought himself earlier this summer, but will be the biggest and newest monitor I've ever had. I even get a new keyboard, though that's just because my family has one lying around and I need one. This may not be a very big deal, but at least he space bar doesn't squeak every time you hit it, and it doesn't the kind of backspace key Matthew complains about. All the time. To me. As if it's my fault. Silly boy.
Friday morning Matthew had set the alarm for seven (which was only about 45 minutes after I'd gotten home from work, which was the best sleep I got that whole day). We got up, took showers, collected our things, and Matthew told me that he'd told Seth that if he wanted to be present at the printer-throwing he should be up around 7:50. Amazingly, he was. We took the printer out on the balcony--so it wasn't quite like throwing it out a window, we just all walked through the sliding glass door--and Seth and Matthew debated what they should be aiming for. They decided the parking lot (which was nearly empty; we're not destructive to other people's things) was a good idea. Seth threw the printer and it didn't go all the way to the parking lot, which is just as well, as it landed on grass and broke into few enough pieces that the two of them could carry them easily to the nearby dumpster.
Then Matthew and I went to his house, where there were many computer-related things for him to do. He's selling my old computer at the garage sale they're having today, and giving me new things. Also, the components of his own new computer came in the mail and were waiting for him, and his family had wireless broadband installed just before we got there, so he had to set that up too. I think he was afraid of me being bored, but I was fine. Sleepy, but not bored. I like his family. I talked with his mom, played my old guitar (which his brother John now has), helped Matthew sort his computer games into "sell" and "keep" piles, checked my e-mail with the fancy new broadband, and ate a lot of good food. Oh, and I took a nap, as I'd only slept about two hours--and not consecutively--that night.
My computer isn't done yet--for boring, Linuxy reasons, and this is already long enough--so I went home with only the dirty clothes I brought with me to be washed, and a cactus Matthew's mom had given me (since she'd been going to sell it anyway, and I said I liked it). Oh, and a red recorder, since I somehow ended up telling her the story of how I learned it so I could play with
star_eyed_lady and be her recorderist last winter. They're intending not so much to make money as to get rid of things, so I guess I was helpful for that.My new computer will actually be pretty cool. Matthew said I could gloat to Seth about having a faster processor than he does, and that was before he had to switch the processor (and the motherboard). I think the one I'm actually ending up with is 900 or 950 MHz. He says this unintentional upgrade he had to give me means I have his third-best computer, which is impressive. It has a brand-new power supply we had to drive half an hour to get, since the one he'd been planning to use ended up not working. I have something like 384 megs of RAM, because he doens't have anything better to do with it than put it in that computer. And I now have 7 GB of disk space instead of the three I'd had before, as he had another disk he could add to that original one. And a 17" monitor, which is nothing compared to the 19" flat-panel he bought himself earlier this summer, but will be the biggest and newest monitor I've ever had. I even get a new keyboard, though that's just because my family has one lying around and I need one. This may not be a very big deal, but at least he space bar doesn't squeak every time you hit it, and it doesn't the kind of backspace key Matthew complains about. All the time. To me. As if it's my fault. Silly boy.
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(no subject)
Date: 2003-08-09 12:59 pm (UTC)You ever thought of using Mac OSX? I used to be into linux myself until Mac decided to build itself on top of Unix (Darwin). So the linux stuff I learned wasn't a waste when I switched to Mac, and there were more commercially available programs that I needed as well.
(no subject)
Date: 2003-08-09 01:52 pm (UTC)And basically, I have Linux because my boyfriend is a Linux geek. I play along. I'm just learning, and I complain a lot, but I do like it. Macs do have their good points, as you pointed out, but they also cost a lot and I have no money. And I get computers for free this way, with components that can be switched in and out as easily as ... well, as easily as I can get Matthew to do them for me.
(I am still happy about OS X being Unix-based; when Matthew bought that new printer he noted that it said on the side of the box that it's compatible with Macintoshes, and said that means it'll work for Linux too, which makes sense.)
(no subject)
Date: 2003-08-09 10:14 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2003-08-10 07:48 am (UTC)You forgot about hopping on one foot while reciting chants in Sanscript. ;)
I'm excited that you are getting a nicer computer. You could call it Robb & Jenn Twoo or something like that. But don't forget, while your processor maybe be faster, I still have a 140 GBs of disk space!
Okay, I only actually use 40 GB for Windows and maybe 2 more for Linux, but I need something to keep my ego intact, right?
(no subject)
Date: 2003-08-10 12:57 pm (UTC)Matthew actually sold the old computer with the "Robb 'n Jenn" sign still on it ... probably because having it taped there was the only thing holding the broken faceplate together. But I still thought that was funny.