A Long Weekend, the End of Summer, and a New Computer!

I bought a new desktop computer on Saturday. This doesn’t happen very often. In fact, the one I’m replacing was running Windows Vista, which was released in January 2007. It still functions, but there are more and more websites that give me a warning message about my operating system being embarrassingly out of date, and that I should be ashamed of myself. “You’re probably a doddering old bag,” they imply, “who remembers when you had to take Coke bottles back for a deposit.” One application, that I use every day, finally sent an email telling me I’ll be permanently signed out on January 1, due to security concerns.

So, I did as I always do, and launched a weeks-long research project. I’m no computer expert, but I’m not a novice, either. I know what I need, for the things I do. I know what’s overkill in my situation, and what’s important. Plus, price is a huge consideration, needless to say. And… once again, I ended up buying from Staples. It’s not a place that jumps immediately to mind, but they have great computer prices. I also bought my laptop there, about a year ago, following a similar fact-finding mission.

My new machine is a Lenovo with 8 gigs of RAM, 1TB hard drive, and an AMD A9 processor. It’s not NASA-grade, but it’s what I need. The same gear was $60 more at Amazon, and $100 more at Best Buy. And now I have Windows 10. So, all those judgmental robots can get off my back. Sheesh. So what if I clearly recall returnables? Kiss my ass.

I bought the computer online, with in-store pickup, hoping I could bypass the sales pitch for extended warranties, criminally overpriced virus protection, etc. But they tried it anyway. And about four words into the spiel I said “No” in a not-at-all-friendly tone, which put an end to it. I don’t like when people try to up-sell me. And that virus stuff? It’s a full-blown ripoff in my opinion, which they sell with fear as a motivator. And every store tries it, not just Staples.

Then I spent several hours on Saturday afternoon, and many more on Sunday, cleaning my office. I vowed to start fresh with a clean bunker and a new computer. But it was an outrageous mess. Toney won’t go in there, and I always let it go until I can’t take it anymore. It had been a long time since I last gave it any attention, and it was an atrocious set of circumstances.

In fact, Toney was talking with me a couple of weeks ago, standing in the doorway of the bunker. She had a look on her face like she was witnessing something truly terrible, as she glanced around the room. “Are you suffering from depression?” she asked. “Of course I’m suffering from depression,” I said. “Depression, guilt, and anxiety are the pillars of my existence.”

I filled two big trash bags with crap, and dusted everything twice. It was so bad, I’d dust something and it would go airborne and settle on a place where I’d already dusted. This took many hours, across two days. Then I brought the vacuum cleaner downstairs, and went to town on the carpet. It was clicking and clacking, and I was afraid it might burst into flames. It has one of those clear containers, where all the filth swirls round and round, and I turned it into a noisy jamboree of Combos shards and toenail clippings.

But I got ‘er done. And sometime on Sunday I switched out the computers. I’ve decided to just start over. I’m transferring NOTHING! I did the same with my laptop (with the exception of 100 gigs of music), and didn’t miss a goddamn thing. If I need to access something, I still have the old tower. I have a feeling it’ll never happen, though. I used to stress about moving stuff over, but it’s not necessary. I put a few important things in Dropbox, and just started fresh.

And this baby is running fast. I love it, so far. I installed a few programs, but am keeping it stripped down to the basics. It’s a whole different approach. I have Microsoft Office, Scrivener, Malwarebytes, and iTunes. Nothing else. And I’m using Firefox as my browser. I used to like Chrome, but it seems to always be runnin’ and scannin’ and whatnot. I also use iDrive as a backup service. It’s not installed yet on the new machine, but will be soon.

As far as virus protection goes… I’m just letting Windows Defender take care of it. People have negative opinions about it, but it’s good enough for me. I’m not trolling around the dark web, or anything. I uninstalled McAfee, first thing. It was one of those three months free deals, then the pop-ups start. I don’t need the aggravation.

And on Monday night we sat on the deck and had some adult beverages. The weather was absolute perfection. We had Founder’s All Day IPA, and then segued into Yuengling Lager, the golden elixir. It was a great evening. I like Labor Day so much more than Memorial Day. The beginning of summer (high heat, humidity, bugs, grass mowing, swamp ass) is nothing to be celebrated. But the end of all that? Pass the beer nuts!

Also, our 24th wedding anniversary was one of the days this weekend. We went out to dinner, and said happy anniversary to each other. I know we’re supposed to go on Facebook and write some sappy-ass vomit-in-a-bucket melodramatic boolshit about “we’ve had our ups and downs,” but “I married my best friend,” etc. We take a different approach. We just tell each other. You know, in the living room, or whatever? We’re very unconventional in that sense.

I need to go now. This is the first update written on the new computer. It was a positive experience. The keyboard is a little funky, but I’ll get used to it.

For a question, I’ll just ask what you did for Labor Day. Anything interesting? Are you with me, that Labor Day is so much better than Memorial Day? Of course it is.

I’ll see you guys again on Thursday.

Have a great one!

Now playing in the bunker

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