I’m not feeling well. It started today with a weird stomach achey feeling and it has escalated to what seems to be a fever and that feeling of irritation towards any garment coming within 2 centimeters of my body. I also have a very slight urge to ralph.

A couple months ago my first hour students started calling me ‘Captain Klan’ and calling my office ‘Captain Klan’s Secret Hideaway’

They, primarily Allison, made this for me today:

I’ve felt very introspective today. I keep thinking of things I want to do, or want to be able to do, thinking about skills I’d like to have. It’s all very sad really, because I have a lot of things on my plate right now as it is. Seems like I do this every time things get busy, wish I could do anything besides the half-done project in front of me.

It comes down, I think, to just not liking long projects. I like working on projects for a long time (sequencial hours usually), but if it takes lots and lots of sessions to do it, I feel deep pain. I get to a point where I feel like progress isn’t being made fast enough, and the whole thing may not be worth it. Communication plays a big role in this I’m sure, and my lack of communication with others involved, asking for help at appropriate times.

I’ve just realized that this is all very vague, so let me paint a picture of sorts…

I have a good list of things that need to be done at home: building a pantry, building a cabinet, adding a lock, replacing electrical outlets, putting lights up in the garage, putting wallboard up in the garage, cleaning up the office, organization of misc. crap in the attic… the list continues.

It’s not getting done because other things get in the way. I need to treat each of these things as individual projects instead of lumping them into the “Home Projects” category, because the way it is now, I’d much rather play some asinine video game than think about all that stuff.

Building a schedule that can be kept, that is my priority, then everything else can fall into place.

The professional in me wants a small laptop that can be thrown around like a very small puppy, but the developer and gamer in me really want to get the 9400 for it’s uber-huge display.

The Dell Inspiron 710m is a sleek and slim machine:
2Ghz Pentium M 755
60GB 5400rpm hard drive
1GB RAM
12inch WXGA TrueLife display
b/g wireless
CD-RW/DVD-RW
Connectors: S-video, VGA, 2 USB, PCMCIA, secure digital, network, modem, firewire
$1,051 w/ 1 year warranty

But the Dell Inspiron 9400 is a powerhouse with a huge display:
1.66Ghz Intel Core Duo Processor T2300 (Dual Core)
60GB 5400rpm hard drive
1GB RAM
17inch WUXGA TrueLife display
256MB NVidia GeForce Go 7800
b/g wireless & BlueTooth
CD-RW/DVD-RW (with DVD+R compatibility)
Connectors: S-video, DVI, VGA, 6 USB, ExpressCard slot, 5in1 card reader, network, firewire
$1,600 w/ 1 year warranty

I’ve always felt that NewEgg has superior service, fast shipping, and decent prices. I recently (six months ago) had to RMA a product that had arrived non-functional. 19″ LCD monitor, no video display… really nice looking paperweight.

I set up the RMA via phone because you supposedly cannot return monitors to newegg, they say they just don’t do it. I was able to convinve them that a dead monitor was not something I wanted to have to deal with, and that it was truly their responsibility. They accepted this and I sent them my beautiful, albeit dead, monitor. Six emails later I got one that said (I’ll have to paraphrase)

[Sorry, we needed a reference number from the manufacturer to process your item, tough luck, you can have $15 next time you buy something through us.]

Do I even get to have my paperweight back? I don’t get to provide you with this mystery reference number? I only get $15… the monitor cost almost $300!?!

To make a long story short (too late) I called NewEgg on Friday to get things straightened out. It was dealt with in a very professional manner, and the same day I got this:

Dear Nate :

Thank you for shopping at NewEgg.com.

Previously we sent you an email to alert you that your RMA had successfully arrived to our warehouse. We have since opened the package and are hereby notifying you of the contents we received:

24-197-008 MNTR ENVISION| 19″LCD EN-9410 (Quantity: 1 )

Type of RMA: RMA Refund

ADDITIONAL NOTES:
Please allow an additional 2-3 business days for your RMA to process.
Due to item availability, some repair RMAs may be delayed and/or changed to refund. This is an automated E-mail for your RMA# - - - - - - .Please do not reply!

Thank you,

Newegg.com
http://www.newegg.com

Moral of this story, email isn’t something NewEgg really pays attention to, if you need it done and done right call ‘em.

Thank you NewEgg, for top-notch phone support.

A few years ago I sold my refurbished Dell Latitude, which I had bought in 1999.

Last November I sold the Dell Inspiron 4100 I had purchased in 2002.

I struck a deal just the other day to sell my Compaq TC1000 TabletPC.

This leaves me with no laptop to call my own.

I need your help, give me links or the make/model of any laptop you can find that you think might even possibly suit me. If I end up getting the laptop you recommend I will give you a two dollar bill and a golden paperclip. This is not a joke.

What should I get?

(Multiple recommendations accepted, though only the first serious recommendation for the chosen model will recieve any prizes.  Providing stats for the laptop you enter is appreciated, but not necessary to win.)